


Operation Get Draco Laid

by In_Dreams



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alcohol, Dating, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gossip, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Humor, Loss of Virginity, Peer Pressure, Romance, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-03-26 08:13:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 33,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19001857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/In_Dreams/pseuds/In_Dreams
Summary: The war is over, and Draco Malfoy is tired of being the perfect, obedient pureblood heir. Now he wants to lose his virginity, stat. And since Draco is back at Hogwarts for his eighth year, there should be plenty of opportunities... right? Dramione.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: Hey everyone, and welcome to OGDL! This short story has been in the works for almost a year now. It is ten chapters long, is completely written, and updates will be weekly. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Love and hugs to my alpha, Kyonomiko, and my beta, I Was BOTWP, for their assistance.
> 
> Warning: This story contains the following: Alcohol consumption, sexual content, and smut.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter franchise.

                                                                  

 

Draco Malfoy dawdled as he paced the hallways, keeping one halfway-attentive ear open for students out of bed. His gaze fell to the Prefect's badge affixed to his chest. Though he still wasn't entirely certain whether McGonagall hadn't lost it during the war, after being back at Hogwarts for a month now, Draco had started to settle into a routine again.

And while he thought she was barmy for giving him Prefect, he enjoyed the perks, especially usage of the Prefect baths. If it meant he had to drag his arse around a few times a week after hours, then so be it.

Draco had realized shortly after returning for his eighth year, it was nice to have the time alone to think. And to avoid other students.

Not that Draco  _didn't_  have any friends at Hogwarts – he was lucky Blaise and Theo had both decided to return and complete their NEWTs as well – it was simply that most of the other students avoided him. Which he preferred to the scathing, hissed remarks.

_Death Eater_.  _Scum. Rot in Azkaban with your father_.

He had been one hundred percent  _over_  it after two days.

Despite the three weeks he had spent in a holding cell in the bowels of the Ministry, Draco had been acquitted, his actions cited as under duress. The only condition of his freedom had been to complete his education at Hogwarts – which he had intended to do, regardless.

But as things fell into a new normal, Draco's return to the school had become old news. There was a new Defense teacher. Muggle Studies was now mandatory. McGonagall had taken over as Headmistress. Most of the damage had been repaired over the summer – the few lingering cosmetic issues had healed themselves shortly after the year had begun. Draco had always suspected the castle to be sentient, and now he had proof.

The Room of Hidden Things remained damaged beyond repair.  _Good riddance_.

The palpable tension that had hung, thick and rancorous in the air the previous year had dissipated.

Draco slipped a finger into his tie, loosening the Windsor, and released the top buttons of his oxford. He was nearing the end of his patrol route and it had been a tiresome day. He was more than ready to drop into his bed in the newly built eighth year dorm, and pass out.

He halted in his step at the sound of a high-pitched giggling.

He rolled his eyes, huffing a long exhale. He had been  _so_  close to a quiet, incident-free night.

As he neared the room from which the noise had come, Draco shook his head. A deeper voice, muffled through the door, could also be heard. As if they hadn't heard of a Silencing Charm.

Draco sniffed, lifting his chin. Some of the students in this school possessed an utter  _lack_  of decorum. Snogging – or Merlin forbid –  _shagging_  in a bloody classroom? He released a haughty sigh.

Probably half-bloods. Or Muggle-borns. No purebloods Draco knew were so improper.

In fact, most of the Slytherins at the very least, had been raised much like Draco. It was only  _proper_ to save oneself for their intended.

Sure, Draco had fooled around here and there, but  _sex_ was another thing entirely.

But yet students traipsed around the school, tittering about, and towing one another into broom closets like they lacked any sense of pride whatsoever.

_No, thank you_.

His nose wrinkled and lip curled into a sneer, Draco opened the door.

The students, two seventh years, by what Draco could tell, scrambled to collect their clothing, in various states of undress.

"Detention," Draco drawled, raising one elegant brow. "Both of you. And get back to your dorms before I make it more."

The girl was a Ravenclaw and Draco narrowed his eyes as the boy shuffled past, swinging a Slytherin tie around his neck. Draco sneered, staring as he handed them both a magically binding detention slip.

"You ought to be ashamed," he sniped and the boy rolled his eyes.

"Like you haven't done it?" the seventh year asked with a sort of shrug, following his girlfriend – floozy – tramp – from the room.

Draco scowled and carried on with his rounds.

* * *

There was a small contingent of night owl eighth years still awake when Draco returned to the newly constructed common room on the fourth floor, including Theo and Blaise, who were playing chess and drinking Firewhisky.

"You look grouchy," Blaise commented, taking a swig from his glass as he advanced a rook.

Draco sighed and swiped a tumbler from the kitchenette, helping himself to a glass of Blaise's alcohol.

"I came across two seventh years in a classroom, doing who knows what, and they hadn't even bothered to cast a silencing charm. And  _he_  was a Slytherin and ought to have known better."

Blaise shrugged. "So?" Then he cursed as Theo claimed one of his knights. "It isn't that big of a deal."

"Maybe not to you," Draco sniffed. "He's from an old house, like Theo and I. It's improper."

"Well then count me glad I'm not from an old house," Blaise said with a lazy grin, even as his gaze flickered across the room to three girls – one Hufflepuff and two Ravenclaws – who were sitting in the far corner and giggling over a bottle of elf-made wine. "Life at Hogwarts  _without_  women is just school, and that gets boring fast."

Draco rolled his eyes and settled back on the couch, feeling the tension leave his shoulders. "You're a fucking rake, Blaise. Not everyone is like that."

"I, for one," Theo spoke up, his attentive gaze still fixed on the chess board, "intend to make reparations for my current  _situation_  as soon as possible. Now that Father's in Azkaban, I have no one I need to please. So that means, no archaic marriage arrangements for me, and I can do whatever I want." His gaze travelled to the group of girls, a smirk on his lips. One of them looked up and waved with a shy smile. "For instance, that Hufflepuff Perks over there."

"You can't be serious," Draco intoned, glancing at the girls and quickly back to his oldest friend. " _You_  too?"

"It's a new age, Draco," Theo quipped with a shrug. "The half-bloods and Muggle-borns are all having sex. Why shouldn't we?"

"Because it isn't how we were raised." Draco rolled his eyes, even as the words of his two best mates niggled at something in the back of his mind. "Won't you expect your future wife to have saved herself?"

Theo raised his hands. "If she wants to have fun before we meet, who am I to say otherwise?" He fixed his hazel eyes on Draco. "Are you telling me, even with Lucius inside on a life sentence, you're going to continue putting any stock in such outdated customs? We're heads of our house lines now, Draco, and it isn't the sixteen-hundreds anymore."

Blaise nodded with a pointed gesture at Theo. "You ought to get on with it too, Draco. Before you're the last bloody virgin sixth year and up."

"That can't be true," Draco scoffed. "What about the girls in Slytherin?"

"Most of them have had sex already," Blaise said with a shrug. Then he cursed as Theo slipped his queen across the board with a smug gin, putting Blaise's king into checkmate. "Fuck this; that's the fourth time tonight!"

"Daphne," Draco deadpanned.

"Oh, Daph's a fucking vixen," Blaise said with a chuckle, his irritation over the defeat already passed.

"No!" Draco exclaimed, feeling an uncomfortable lump settle in his stomach. "Daph and I were meant to be arranged, before the war and everything happened."

"Well, you'd have been the only one waiting, I'll promise you that," Blaise said, pouring himself another glass. "I mean it – you're one of the last buying into those old traditions. Especially in this post-war climate."

Draco frowned, sloshing the liquid around in his cup. Perhaps he was looking at this wrong.

Theo fixed him with a stern glare. "Do you want to go the path of your father or not?"

"Not," Draco said with distaste. His father had nearly ruined Draco's life along with his own, and his mind was still often riddled with terrible memories and nightmares from his time as an unwilling Death Eater.

Theo turned back to the chess board and began setting up the pieces for a fifth match. "Then there's your answer. Find a woman and get yourself laid."

Draco stared across the room at the three eighth year girls, his eyes narrowing. None of them were bad-looking, but he wasn't going to simply approach one of them and ask. For one thing, he was a little embarrassed to learn he was one of the only ones keeping to the old traditions and he didn't need  _that_  to become public knowledge.

He wasn't terrible with women, despite that relationships had been the last thing on his mind through his sixth and seventh years. But life was different this year, and now Draco had the time and the mental bandwidth to consider these things.

"By the way, the Muggle-borns are the most willing," Blaise said, sipping his whiskey as he moved a pawn two spaces forward. "And the half-bloods.  _If_  you want something without too many strings attached. Which I recommend, for the first time. You might not be the most  _adept_."

"I'll be plenty adept," Draco retorted. He hated feeling at a disadvantage, and even Theo had prospects when he didn't. "The Muggle-borns though? Really?"

"Absolutely," Blaise agreed with a nod. "Muggles are far more open about their sexuality than witches and wizards, as a general rule. And they're also more…  _adventurous._ "

Draco snickered and shook his head. "Most of them, I'm sure. Not Granger. She's got that stick so far up her arse."

Both Blaise and Theo burst into laughter and Draco's brows shot up high on his forehead.

"Not Granger?" Blaise repeated, chuckling. "I  _guarantee_  you, Granger is one of the most adventurous, despite that she isn't the most outwardly promiscuous."

Draco gaped at his mate. " _You_?"

"Not me," Blaise said, and quickly amended, "not  _yet_. But I've heard things."

"From who!" Draco demanded. He refused to believe that  _he_  was a virgin, while swotty, teacher's pet Granger wasn't.

"I don't remember," Blaise said with a shrug. "But the point is, Draco, you're not gaining anything by waiting. Trust me – you'll be happier when you loosen up a little."

"But Theo hasn't," Draco pointed out.

"Theo hasn't  _yet_ ," Theo echoed; he was still making eyes at the Hufflepuff across the room. "Give it – two weeks."

Draco scoffed. "Two weeks! You won't even have asked Perks out two weeks from now."

Theo's eyes narrowed as he made a move on the chess board and then looked up. "Perks!" he shouted and she looked up, smiling. "Hogsmeade Saturday?"

Exchanging a glance and a giggle with her two Ravenclaw friends, Perks nodded with a sort of self-deprecating shrug.

"I think I can fit you in," she returned.

Draco groaned, shaking his head.

"Your move," Theo said, turning his triumphant stare back on Draco.

Draco eyed the two Ravenclaws with consideration. Blaise smacked him on the shoulder with the back of his hand.

"Not those two," he hissed. "I've got my eye on one or the other. Find your own."

"Unreasonable," Draco snipped. "But fine. I'll find someone, but I'm not setting any time limits. I don't want to rush it with just anyone."

He still couldn't believe  _Granger_  wasn't a virgin.

"You have a month," Blaise said, dismissive.

"No," Draco said through ground teeth and a clenched jaw. "I'll take my time."

"It isn't studying for NEWTs, Draco, it's having sex. You don't need to take your time, just pick one and do what you have to do. Like Theo's just done."

Across from Blaise, Theo chuckled.

"It feels like taking advantage of them by only looking for sex," Draco admitted.

"Not if  _they_  only want sex, too," Blaise reminded him. "Obviously I'm not telling you to cross any lines or make undue promises. That's heinous and distasteful."

"Fine," Draco said, his eyes narrowed. "I'll give it some thought." He slammed the remainder of his Firewhisky, his body heavy with fatigue. "I'm going to sleep."

Then he stalked down the corridor towards the dorms. Every eighth year had their own room, and now having learned this startling revelation, Draco felt glad of it.

* * *

He awoke the next morning feeling groggy and restless, having found little sleep the night before. All Draco could think about was the fact that he had been mistaken in his beliefs that he wasn't the only one still holding out, and the fact that he had committed to finding someone to whom he would give his virginity.

_Without_  being an awkward bumbling fool. He had snogged a few witches before, but he wasn't familiar with the inner workings of the female body, and it would be obvious to any potential bed partners that he didn't know what he was doing.

Briefly, he considered asking a friend for a favour – if Daphne had already had sex, Pansy would have most certainly done as well.

But he didn't want either of them to know. He and Pansy had dated briefly in fifth year but it hadn't gone anywhere; it wasn't a can of worms he was looking to open again.

Ideally, it would be someone with whom he didn't have an existing relationship of any kind, someone he didn't see on a regular basis, and someone whose opinion meant little.

In History of Magic that morning, Draco found himself making a list of potential girls – he had charmed the parchment so no one but him could read its contents – and the list was long enough that Draco began to feel hopeful. Even if some of the girls were simply monikers, such as  _Blonde Seventh Claw with Fringe_.

Theo snickered beside him as he worked, but given he couldn't read the list, Draco wasn't concerned.

Even despite that, he shielded his hand as he wrote the last name:  _Granger_.

It wasn't as if Draco thought she was even that fit – although, he supposed, she  _was_  fit – but he couldn't shake the idea that she was more promiscuous than he. That she was, as Blaise had put it,  _adventurous_.

He had only ever seen swotty, prissy Granger with her nose in a book. The thought that there was such a contrary side to her had Draco more than a little intrigued and, if he was honest, hot beneath the collar.

But of course, she would never go for  _him_. Not with the ugly past that lingered above them. Hesitating, he nearly scratched her name from the list but couldn't bring himself to do so.

He folded the list into a tight square and tucked it into the bottom of his satchel.

* * *

The problem with Draco's list, he had learned a few days later, was that most of the female population of Hogwarts had no interest in him.

He'd had decent enough luck with girls before the war – but it appeared that no longer held true. His list had been admittedly ambitious and optimistic, but in the first two days he had crossed off more than half the names. Although some had been borne of his own second thoughts, and not from failed social interactions.

He found himself staring closer at the girls in his classes, in the eighth year common room, in the Great Hall at mealtimes. Watching, wondering – and for the first time, allowing himself to consider the options.

Prior to the war, he had believed he would be betrothed and wed to Daphne Greengrass, and so there had been no consideration to the development of a true relationship with anyone else. But the arrangement had been called off after Lucius Malfoy had been sentenced to Azkaban, and Daphne's parents – from what Draco had heard – were looking into other options.

Draco didn't mind, even though he considered Daphne a friend and she was pretty enough. She wasn't the sort of girl he would have chosen for himself, and he knew the same was true for her.

But now with the freedom that lied outside of potential arrangements, Draco found himself wondering whether he might be interested in pursuing a real relationship with someone.

Which made the pressure to find someone with whom to have sex all the more overwhelming. Would it be a person he was actually interested in? Or would it simply be a mutual exchange of – he hoped – sexual satisfaction? A means for Draco to wet his wick and move on to the next with the knowledge and preparedness he currently lacked.

Blaise's pointed stares weren't helping. "Just pick someone," he scoffed, with an exaggerated sigh, on the third morning.

Draco sniffed and took a sip of his pumpkin juice. "You don't  _just pick_ a stallion when you have a breeding mare, Blaise."

"Well unless you're trying to  _breed_  with someone, it doesn't matter," Blaise said. "You have twenty-eight days."

"I never agreed to your inane and inadequate deadline," Draco said, idly scratching a name from his list, given the girl had sneered and turned in the other direction when he approached her before breakfast.

"You should want it faster," Blaise snorted. "Believe me."

Draco's eyes narrowed at his rapidly dwindling list.

* * *

Draco scowled across his table in the library at the back of a curly, brunette head of hair.

For reasons unbeknownst to him, he had yet to cross Granger's name from his list. If anyone, she should have been one of the first, as there was certainly no reconciliation in the cards for the two of them. Draco had been a right arse to her for six years – and the girl had literally been tortured on the floor of his drawing room less than a year prior.

But he couldn't seem to sate his curiosity.

Presumably feeling his gaze sear into her, Granger's head spun around and her eyes narrowed upon seeing Draco at the next table over.

"What?" she hissed, a frown curving her lips.

Draco wondered what Blaise meant by  _adventurous_. He wondered who had told Blaise – who had received the first-hand experience.

He felt a faint pinking in his cheeks and sneered. "Nothing."

With a huff, Granger spun her whole body in the seat. Draco couldn't help his gaze from flickering to her uniform. Her tie was removed and the top two buttons of her shirt undone. It was more modest than some of the girls wore but he swallowed, feeling a twitch in his trousers.

"Malfoy!" she snapped in a sharp whisper, and Draco swept his gaze up to meet hers, feeling out of sorts. "Why are you staring at me!"

"I wasn't," he denied, brow furrowing with a frown. "I was considering the sentence I just read and you happened to be sitting there."

Granger rolled her eyes and shook her head. "If you're just here to mock me –"

"Not everything revolves around you, Granger," Draco scoffed and fought the urge to wince at his heavy tone. Because he needed  _another_  reason to cross her from his list.

She tossed her hair over one shoulder and scratched her neck – she kept her fingernails longer than Draco would have expected from such a practical and studious girl. His gaze lingered on the creamy column of her throat.

He wondered whether she was the type to scratch her partner during sex and swallowed the sudden lump in his throat.

"You're still staring!" Granger exclaimed, the pitch of her voice growing higher with her derision.

Draco took a breath, moistening his lips with his tongue. He opened his mouth to tell her off again, and hissed, "Do you want to have sex?"

His eyes widened and his jaw snapped shut.

Something flashed across Granger's face and then she steeled her expression, her eyes hard. "Sod off, Malfoy, you tosser," she snapped, stacking up her papers and shoving them into her bookbag. Her lip curled as she rose to her feet, standing abruptly to leave.

Draco blinked after her, wondering why he felt so numb.


	2. Chapter 2

Granger had been glaring at Draco all evening from where she sat in the eighth year common room with Longbottom and the two Ravenclaws Blaise had been keen on. Potter and Weasley hadn't returned to Hogwarts for their eighth year, having been given a free pass into Auror training, and Granger had diversified in her friendships as a result.

Blaise snickered, following her gaze.

"What did you do to Granger? She's looking like she can't decide whether she wants to fuck you or kill you," Blaise teased, from where he was in the middle of a chess match with Theo – again. Draco wondered how they didn't grow bored of it.

"At least she hasn't decided," Theo quipped. "It bodes well for Draco."

"I asked her to have sex with me," Draco choked.

"Awfully forward for someone who hates you." Blaise shook his head. "Let us know how it pans out."

"You could have at least asked her out first," Theo agreed. "You know, like a normal person. Hogsmeade is tomorrow; it's the perfect opportunity."

"Let's back up a minute," Blaise said, looking up from the game. "Why Granger?" He paused for a minute, a smirk creeping up. "It's because I said I'd heard she was adventurous, isn't it?"

"It just slipped out," Draco snapped.

"Really, you ought to learn the basics first," Blaise said, his tone facetious. "Granger's more of an intermediate shag."

"Sod off." Draco slammed the remains of his Firewhisky; he rose and slung the strap of his bag over his shoulder, deciding he would retreat to his dorm even though it was Friday night. He couldn't deal with any more of Blaise and Theo's stupid jokes about it, when his own embarrassment over the situation was heavy enough.

He released the private wards on his door and began to pull it open when a hand slammed into the door, pushing it shut again. Feeling tension roll through him, he turned to see Granger staring at him with one brow raised, unimpressed.

"What?" he snapped, eyes narrowing on instinct.

" _What_?" Granger echoed, staring at him. "You know what. Why, in the name of Merlin, did you proposition me in the library this afternoon? Are you  _that_  hard up?" Her lip curled into a sneer.

There was no one else in the corridor; faint chatter sounded from the common room but his dorm was far enough away that no one would hear them.

"No reason, Granger," he drawled, "my brain simply stopped working for a minute."

Granger was standing far closer than necessary. Draco's gaze flickered down to meet hers and he noticed the buttons of her oxford were still undone, as well as a third; from this angle he could see just a hint of the fabric of her bra.

Her arms folded across her chest and Draco's eyes snapped back to hers, which were narrowed.

"What have you heard?" she hissed; everything about her stance screamed hostility.

Fixing a smirk on his face that he didn't feel, Draco leaned against the doorframe. "I heard you're adventurous in bed."

"And you thought you'd just help yourself, did you?" Granger's voice was deceptively calm. "Never mind everything you've put me through over the years. Malfoy wants, Malfoy gets, is that it?" Her voice raised as she glared at him. "Couldn't even make a pretense at actually asking me out? Can't be  _seen_  with the Muggle-born, just a means for you to get off, right?"

"If I wanted to help myself, I wouldn't have asked," Draco pointed out. It wasn't the wisest thing to say, in hindsight, but it was the only thing he could think of in the moment. It was as if his brain ceased normal functioning when she was nearby.

Her lip curled as she stared up at him.

"That obviously isn't how I meant it," she snapped. Then her head tilted. "I'll tell you what, Malfoy. I'll consider it. But you're going to work for it."

Draco's eyes narrowed as they stared at her. "Why would you even do that?"

Granger shrugged. "Because I look forward to seeing you have to earn something for once in your spoiled, entitled life."

His breathing was shallow; Granger was willing to have sex with him.

His voice dropped low. "What did you have in mind?"

"I don't know yet," Granger said, leaning against the other side of his door frame. "You can start with taking me to Hogsmeade tomorrow. You can't want me privately and pretend you've no interest publicly. If you want to have sex, you'll have to make your intentions known." She looked up at him through heavy eyelids. "I know, public declarations aren't really your thing. But this one will be."

"And do I get any assurances you'll follow through?" Draco frowned; something wasn't adding up. Granger didn't do things without thinking them through.

She shrugged again, her lips curling into a smile. "Nothing official. I guess my decision will depend on the amount of effort you're willing to put in."

He scowled, but this was the only progress he'd made at all. And since Granger had taken over his mind, the rest of Draco's list felt insignificant. She was the one he wanted to have sex with – he wanted to claim this victory to Blaise and Theo. She would be his forbidden fruit. And she was fully cognizant of the fact that he was only in it for sex, so he wasn't even leading her on.

He sniffed. "Very well. I'll take you to Hogsmeade tomorrow."

"Don't sound so excited," Granger teased, staring up at him through her lashes. "You'll pick me up in the common room at noon."

With that, she turned on the spot and ventured the three doors down and across the hallway to her own dorm. Draco caught his lower lip between his teeth as he watched her arse go.

* * *

Draco checked his watch as he waited for Granger the following day in the common room. Theo had already left for Hogsmeade with the Hufflepuff, Perks – Draco thought her name was Sally-Anne. Blaise had likewise vanished earlier that morning.

Draco had chosen to wear dark jeans and a black jumper – in an effort to appeal to Granger's Muggle side.

Shortly before noon, she emerged from the dorm corridor, wearing a purple jumper with a pair of tight-fitting jeans; he liked the way they clung to her slender legs. Her curly hair was piled atop her head in a messy sort of bun that was quite becoming, a few loose curls having escaped already.

Her gaze sweeping the length of him, she nodded as she walked to his side.

"I've decided what I'd like to do," Granger said as she slipped her arm through his elbow. "And the more effort you're willing to put in, the further I'll allow this to go." She stared at up at him, as if daring him to object.

Draco's eyes narrowed at the challenge in hers and his lips curled into a smirk. "Very well, then. Shall we?"

Granger paced at his side as he led her to the Entrance Hall and down the path to Hogsmeade, while he did his best to ignore the anxious buzzing of gossip as they passed. She smiled around absently, leaning into him a little. His gaze was drawn more than once to the vee neck of her jumper – he could see the hint of cleavage she displayed from his taller vantage – and his mind was carried away with thoughts of her tits.

He didn't have much to say to her as they walked, but it seemed she was content in silence. He realized how little he knew about her beyond that she was a great swot of a bookworm and had a hero complex.

Draco had lost sight of his blood purity issues somewhere around the time he had been forced to watch a great snake ingest Muggles simply for existing – but it still felt strange to be out in public with  _Granger_ , of all people.

Maybe it would actually do the Malfoy name some good, if he were to be seen with a Muggle-born witch.

Blaise had gaped at him from outside of the Three Broomsticks; Draco couldn't resist the smirk he fired back in return.

"Do you have anywhere in particular you'd like to go?" he asked, keeping his tone as polite as possible.

"I would like a Butterbeer," Granger responded, matching his tone.

With a nod and an attempt at a smile that turned out more like a grimace, Draco steered her into the pub and settled her at a table while he went to the bar and ordered two drinks.

"Thank you," she said, that same banal smile on her face as he set her Butterbeer on the table before her. "I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Draco replied, taking the seat across from her and doing his best to ignore the dozens of eyes he felt watching them. "So what do you like to do for fun?"

"Ah, small talk," Granger said, her eyes sparkling. "A nice touch. But we don't need to do any of that. I don't really need to know anything about you."

"Fine," Draco returned, taking a sip of his drink.

"What I am curious about, however, is how you feel knowing that  _all_  those girls think you're here on a date with me." She gave a musing smile.

Draco scoffed. "I  _am_  here on a date with you. And I don't even know who most of those girls are."

"You heartbreaker," she teased, her words mocking. "They all know you."

Draco didn't feel inclined to correct her, despite that he knew most of those girls had no interest in him beyond an eager and morbid curiosity – like humans watching animals in a zoo to see what they'll do.

"So what other tasks have you prepared for me?" Draco asked, resting one arm on the table as he stared at her. "Potions homework? Cleaning your dorm by hand? Daring rescues?"

"Oh, Merlin, no," she said, waving a hand. "I wouldn't trust anyone else to do my homework."

Draco sighed in private relief. He had enough on his plate with his own course load.

"You'll just have to find out as we progress, I suppose," she murmured, taking a sip of her drink. Draco watched at she swallowed, her throat bobbing. His gaze landed on her lips as she licked the remaining foam from them. "I'm surprised you haven't asked what you'll get for taking me out today."

"I didn't want to presume," he asked, his lips pressed into a smirk as he stared at her.

Granger gave an indelicate snort. "The basis of this entire thing is presumption."

"Fine," Draco said, waving a hand. "Sex?"

She barked a laugh. "Nice try, but no. I'm not sure what you heard and from whom, but I'm not a slag. Certainly not for just anyone."

Draco snickered and leaned back in his seat. Granger was more amusing than he would have guessed. "I suppose we'll have to call it a surprise then."

"Very well," she mused, finishing her drink. "Where are you taking me next?"

Draco shrugged. "Honeydukes? Scrivenshaft's?"

"How well you know me," Granger said, a hint of a smile playing at her lips. "I  _am_  nearly out of parchment."

"It isn't hard to know you love books, Granger," Draco deadpanned.

"Well," she began, settling her hands on the table, "it's both noted and appreciated."

Draco swallowed, his mouth dry again. He drank the last swig of his Butterbeer. "Are you ready to go?"

"Ready when you are," she quipped. She rose from her seat and led him down the narrow aisle between tables, her hand reaching back to grab his, and she tugged him closer so his chest was nearly to her back. Her gaze turned back to meet his, her eyes teasing and warm.

It was sort of nice, Draco decided, to go out in public with someone. He would have to remember that for when he got this first experience over with and found someone with whom he wanted to start a relationship.

Granger blinked at him, surprised, when he purchased the pack of sugar quills she was eyeing up, and in return she tried to buy him a nice eagle-feather quill, which he then insisted he purchase as well.

"It's a gift," Granger said. "You can't pay for your own gift."

"You've no need to get me a gift," Draco hissed, "you don't even like me."

"But we're on a date," she said, batting her lashes like a floozy.

It occurred to Draco then, that all of her actions had been a show for the benefit of the onlookers in Hogsmeade. She had wanted it to look as if he had declared for her, and she was acting appropriately smitten in return.

"Fine," he said through clenched teeth, "buy the damn quill, but you can keep it for yourself."

"You're too kind," Granger murmured through curved lips.

Draco wasn't sure whether he was turned on or unnerved by her acting abilities.

When she announced she'd made all the stops she needed, Draco offered to walk her back to the castle, and for good measure, he slung an arm around her shoulders as she shivered in the cool breeze. It left him at a perfect position to stare down her jumper.

He walked her all the way to the eighth year common rooms, where she leaned in and planted a gentle kiss to his cheek.

Draco felt the slightest sting of disappointment; when she had said he was going to get something in return for their mockery of a date, he had been hoping for more than a kiss on the cheek.

But she turned and left for her dorm to stow her purchases, and Draco made for his own, feeling unease in the pit of his stomach.

Moments later, she appeared again in the corridor as he was entering his room, and before he could say anything she crept in after him, pressing the door shut behind her.

Granger stared at him with an extended hesitation before she said, "Thanks, Malfoy. That was more fun than I was anticipating."

"You too, Granger," he said, feeling a faint tug of amusement. "And I'd say your mission is well accomplished. The whole school thinks we're together."

She laughed, a single sharp bark. "Isn't that amusing."

Draco wasn't entirely certain of her motives, and he hadn't quite unpacked his thoughts on the situation as a whole, but he wasn't keen on thinking too hard on it at the moment, with the way she was looking at him.

Her eyes met his as she stepped closer, well into his personal space. She leaned in and her nose brushed his; Draco could feel the warm puffs of air from her breaths on his lips, and taste the hint of Butterbeer on her breath.

She lifted one hand and it landed on his face as she pressed her lips to his, so soft he could barely feel them. She kissed him again, capturing his bottom lip between hers, sucking it between her teeth before releasing it. Her fingers trailed back into his hair as she kissed him a third time; her tongue swept the seam of his lips and he kissed her back, his tongue flicking out to taste hers.

It was slow and sensual and unlike any kiss Draco had received. His stomach flipped and his groin clenched as her fingernails grazed his scalp. Her tongue swept into his mouth and she pressed herself against him; Draco could feel her chest against his, and he lifted a hand to her side as the other slid into her hair, playing with the loose curls that had fallen from her bun.

With measured steps, Granger backed him against the wall and her mouth drew back just enough to separate their lips. Her tongue tasted his, a brief flicker, and her teeth nipped at his lower lip before tugging it into her mouth again.

Draco's hand on her side dragged up, testing the waters, and took hold of a handful of her breast. He gave it a gentle squeeze as she continued to tease him with her tongue and teeth, Draco giving in return as he followed her pace. He swallowed her groan as he swept a thumb across her peaked nipple through her jumper, turning her slowly to press her back against the wall.

Both her hands buried themselves in his hair as her tongue tangled with his, little whimpers escaping her throat as she ground against him, almost absently.

The kiss wasn't aggressive but meticulous and patient. Draco didn't know whether he'd ever been more turned on – and he knew she could feel it.

Her tongue danced out, catching his again, as Draco swept his hand down, slipping it beneath her tight jumper and up along her bare stomach, pulling at the cup of her bra.

She stilled but for the way her lips pressed gently against his, and Draco grazed his fingers to the inside of her bra, pinching her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. She let out a low groan that shot straight to his straining erection, her tongue flicking against his as he took her bare breast within his palm.

Draco wondered how far she'd let him go. Wondered whether this was further than she had intended.

One of her hands grabbed his arse and she tugged him closer, a cry escaping her as Draco groaned at the friction where she rubbed against him, her breaths coming out tight and ragged against his mouth.

Then with a sharp gasp she pulled back, staring up at him, her chest heaving. She whispered, "That's enough for today, I think," even as she stayed pressed against him.

Draco stared down at her, his jumbled thoughts slowly coming together as he registered her words, and he pulled his hand back when she released him. He took a step back and she removed herself from between him and the wall.

"This was nice." She flashed him a brief smile; her lips were pink and swollen, her hair almost entirely fallen from its bun.

Draco clenched his jaw, swallowing the lump in his throat as he stared at her, unwilling to speak because he knew he would ask her to stay. He wasn't sure whether he wouldn't  _beg_  her to stay.

"I'll let you know," she breathed, her gaze shifting from his to the wall, "for next time."

"Right," Draco choked out.

"Bye, Malfoy."

And before he could register anything more, she swept from the room and closed the door behind her, leaving Draco with a racing heart and a burgeoning hard-on. He released a tight breath, determining he would have to take matters into his own hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: THANK YOU, lovely readers, for the overwhelming response to the first chapter. I appreciate all of your kudos, subs, and kind words. I hope this story doesn't disappoint! A couple of you have asked, and this entire story will be from Draco's POV. 
> 
> Alpha and beta LOVE to Kyonomiko and I Was BOTWP. xoxo


	3. Chapter 3

He watched her in classes, his gaze fixed on the way she sucked at the end of the sugar quills he'd bought for her. The way there was a slight tilt to her head, her lips parted in rapt attention.

Merlin, he'd  _dreamed_  of those lips and the things they'd done to his own.

He stared at her in the common room as he sipped Firewhisky with Blaise and Theo; she met his gaze with a coy smile.

The day after their  _date_ , Draco had ripped his list to shreds and thrown it in the fire. He was going to do whatever Granger asked of him if it meant he could have sex with her.

And he wasn't overly concerned by how it looked to her. By the time she learned he was a virgin, she would have already agreed to it. Maybe he could convince her not to say anything to anyone else.

It had been four days, and Draco was certain he was going crazy waiting for her to offer him another task, and another chance to advance whatever it was between them in the direction he was hoping for.

She trailed her fingers along his arm as she walked past towards the dorms; his gaze followed her and she shot him a pointed glance at the threshold of the common room and the dorms. His heart leapt and thudded in his chest.

"Excuse me," Draco quipped, hopping to his feet as Blaise and Theo fixed him with amused stares while he chased after Granger like a lost puppy.

_He didn't care_.

Granger was already gone by the time he reached the dorms and he rapped sharply on her door before casting a furtive glance down the hall while he waited; it took a full minute for her to open the door and when she did, she fixed him with a distracted stare. "Yes?"

"You gave me a look," Draco said, raising a brow. He fought the urge to shift on the spot.

She stared at him for a moment. "I suppose I did. Well, I've thought of the next thing I'd like."

"Thank Merlin," he grumbled. Her lips twisted into a charming smile and Draco wanted to lean in and kiss her so badly it hurt. He wondered whether it was a side effect of their last meeting, but didn't care to think about it too hard. "What is it?"

"I need your help with a task, and I just haven't had the time to do it myself, with all the NEWT studying I've got at the moment," she said, twisting her hands together.

"It's October," he deadpanned.

"Never too early," she said, fixing him with a stern stare. "You probably ought to think about getting started yourself."

"Never mind that," he muttered, shaking his head. "What's the task?"

"Can you organize my bookshelf for me?" She blinked up at him, her eyes wide. "I have a very particular method of organization and it needs to be done by hand as it's too comprehensive for any sorting spell. Here," she shoved a sheet of paper into his hand, "is the methodology. And please keep in mind Muggle versus magical books."

Draco stared at her book sorting methods. "You're bloody insane, Granger." His eyes skimmed the list. "Year, nationality of author, subject matter,  _and_  colour? What in the name of Merlin do you prioritize?"

"The prioritization is listed in the order written there," she said, breezing through the room to throw some things in her bag. "I have to go to the library. Can I trust you to have this done in the next few hours?"

Draco scoffed, shaking his head. But then he remembered the way she had kissed him, ground against him, whimpered against his mouth –

"It'll be done," he huffed.

"Perfect!" She clapped her hands together. "I'll be back before curfew."

* * *

Draco was at once frustrated, fatigued, and unfinished by the time Granger returned from the library. He hadn't realized how close her task was to menial labour, and he didn't appreciate it. She swept into the room, removing her tie and beginning to unbutton her shirt as if she'd forgotten he was there.

Staring at something on her bed, she asked, "How did it go?"

Draco looked up with narrowed eyes as she tugged a band from her hair and it fell loose in an explosion of thick curls which she attempted to mollify with what looked like futility.

"It's isn't complete," he snipped, "but I'll take your return to mean you're able to finish it yourself."

He folded his arms and she turned to stare at him, her gaze shifting to appraise the organization of her books. "That's fine. I'll finish it tomorrow." She chewed her lower lip as her stare remained on the stacks of books on the floor. "I appreciate it, Malfoy."

There was something brisk and lukewarm in her tone that gave Draco pause. Her voice lacked the teasing quality it'd had in Hogsmeade and back in the dorms after, when she had given him that mind-blowing kiss.

He noted the furrow to her brow, the tension in her jaw.

He'd been hoping her task meant they were going to go further, but now he wasn't sure and he wasn't about to force her.

"Is that my dismissal, then?" he bit out in a low tone.

"You don't need to do anymore," she said, rubbing at the back of her neck, her eyes fluttering. "Look, Malfoy, I hate to do this but can we carry on tomorrow? I'm exhausted, and I think I've picked up a bug or something –"

"That's fine," Draco said. Reining in his disappointment, he collected his things and made to leave the room. "Tomorrow, then."

Granger let out a sigh and cut him off at the door, her fingers drifting to his wrist and then falling limp at her side. She looked uncomfortable when she glanced up at him. "I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you. I do appreciate your help with the books."

"It's okay." Draco realized he was being unnecessarily harsh, especially if she was feeling poor; he gave her a nod and reached for the door handle.

"You can –" she cut herself off, clearing her throat. "You can stay, if you want to."

"Stay?" Draco asked, raising a brow, his hand frozen on the handle. "The night?"

"If you want," Granger said, glancing away. "I know you were hoping for more, but I'm just not –"

"Why would you want me to stay?" His voice was rougher than he'd intended and she blinked. "I only mean, this is just about making me do things that make me uncomfortable, right? This is your little anti-Malfoy power trip?"

He couldn't quite keep the malice from his voice or the curl from his lip.

"You don't  _have_  to do any of this," Granger said, her jaw tight. "You want to have sex with me; I can't just go ahead with it like every other girl you've ever set your sights on." She sighed and pushed her hair back from her face. "It's the only way I can rationalize it to myself, if you must know."

Draco stared at her, hard. "And how many girls are you supposing I've approached for sex?"

"I don't know," she said, shrugging. "But I have no illusions that I'm anything special."

Draco wanted to correct her – but he didn't want to lay out his cards just yet. "And why do you need to rationalize this anyway?"

"Because," she said, squaring her shoulders, "just accepting it makes me feel like a cheap slag. And I didn't know what else to do because –" she made a face "– because I wanted it, too."

"You wanted to have sex with me," Draco repeated, his words slow. "When we first spoke about it."

Granger gave a sort of awkward shrug. "I didn't want to tell you, because I knew I would just be another notch on your bedpost. I didn't want to stroke your already massive ego."

Draco stared, bemused. She really thought he was some sort of suave casanova the girls all fawned over. She would be in for a rude awakening when –  _if_  – they ever got to that point. He was suddenly seized by nerves, realizing how much more experience she must have had. Especially if she was indulging thoughts of casual sex.

He swallowed and dropped his hand from where it rested on the handle. "You'd be surprised, Granger."

She raised her eyes to his but didn't say anything.

"You weren't to be a notch, or just another girl," he admitted. He felt awkward, wishing he could turn and leave. "This isn't just nothing – that kiss – that wasn't nothing."

Granger shrugged again and steeled herself. "I enjoyed it. It's why I said you could stay if you want. I was looking forward to tonight, but I want it to be enjoyable."

"I don't want to do anything if you aren't feeling up to it, Granger," Draco said, staring at her from beneath raised brows. "Believe it or not, half-asleep doesn't do it for me."

She snickered even as her gaze remained fixed on the floor. "The offer stands. Otherwise, I'll see you tomorrow."

Draco knew he should just return to his room, and come back the next day to see what she had for him – tasks or otherwise. But there was something about the tension in her shoulders, in her downcast gaze. It wasn't the confident, self-assured person she had been on their trip to Hogsmeade.

She had admitted to wanting to sleep with him – even though she thought she would be just another girl for him – but some sort of Gryffindor moral code was prohibiting her from doing so without making him work for it. He didn't understand that, but he could read her body posture.

He sighed. "Let me drop my things off and change. Then I'll come back."

She gave a noncommittal shrug. "Don't feel like you have to. It was only an offer, if you like that sort of thing."

Draco blinked and grumbled, "I wouldn't know, I've never tried it."

Before he could take a look at her reaction, he slipped from her room and returned to his own. While he changed into his sleep clothes, he debated just remaining in his room and going to sleep. But he'd already told her he would come back, and he didn't want to risk making her mad.

And there was something in her eyes – something lonely. Some part of him wanted her to know she wasn't just a notch. Wanted to see that confident smile again.

Releasing a long breath, he crept back into the corridor. Even though everyone had seen them in Hogsmeade together, they had been reserved with one another since, only the occasional touch and brief stint of conversation. The last thing he needed to ignite the gossip was for people to see him sneaking into her room late at night.

He closed her door behind him as he slipped in. She had changed into a pair of shorts that showed off her lean legs and a camisole.

Draco realized it was a bad idea in an instant, when he felt himself begin to stiffen at the amount of skin she was showing. If she didn't think he was a virgin yet she'd know once she realized how turned on she made him simply by wearing shorts.

But she gave him a sort of resigned smile and slipped beneath the covers, waving her wand to extinguish the lights. Draco climbed in after her, uncertain as to what his role would be in this dynamic between them. But when she shifted backwards, pressing her back to his chest, Draco wrapped an arm around her waist and tucked her in closer against him.

He was halfway convinced she was going to get angry and ask him to leave once she felt the hard-on he was sporting but she simply adjusted herself, paused, and turned her head back to face him with a hint of a smile.

"Thank you," she whispered in the dark; the only light came from the hint of the moon breaking through the curtains. She leaned up, her lips finding his. Draco kissed her back, his lips pressing a bit harder against hers, and her tongue darted out to meet his for a brief moment, her fingers reaching back to thread in his hair.

She tucked her hair beneath her head when she settled back down and Draco pulled her closer, finding he quite liked the feel of a sleepy woman in his arms.

"Good night, Granger," he murmured into the back of her head.

But she was already asleep.

* * *

Draco woke early and blinked at his surroundings. Granger was asleep beside him, one hand loosely draped across his side. She stirred and her eyes fixed on him, half-lidded, before they fell shut again. Uncomfortable, Draco edged from the bed and returned to his room, not knowing whether she expected him to stay or go.

Granger wasn't at breakfast in the Great Hall that morning and Draco found his attention drawn to the door more than once in case she were to arrive late – but Granger was never late.

She didn't make it to their Arithmancy class, either, and he found himself thinking about what she had said the night before. That she had been feeling under the weather.

And while his first instinct was to hope that he hadn't caught whatever she had, his second thought was to hope that she was alright. He kept an eye on Longbottom and Granger's Ravenclaw friends during classes but none of them seemed worried and Draco tried to banish the thought from his mind.

Most likely Granger had worked herself to exhaustion; he was surprised it had taken this long, with the hours she kept in the library.

She needed to relax – maybe Draco needed to take her out again.

At once, his stomach twisted at the thought. All he  _needed_  to do was to continue on with the inane tasks she had for him, and to complete his plan so he could move on with his life.

Scoffing at himself for being such a tosser, he forced himself to focus on his classwork.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reading! I love to hear your thoughts. A bit of a shorter chapter but the next is longer to make up for it :)
> 
> Alpha and beta credits to Kyonomiko and I Was BOTWP. xoxo


	4. Chapter 4

Granger was in the common room that evening, though she hadn't been at dinner. Draco caught her eye briefly as he took a seat on the couch beside where Blaise and Theo were already playing chess and drinking a glass of Firewhisky.

Since the professors rarely came by the eighth year commons, the students had more freedom than they'd had in their house dorms, especially given there weren't young, impressionable students around.

Draco poured himself a glass and tuned in to the conversation they'd already been having.

"Theo's asked Sally-Anne out again this weekend," Blaise informed him.

"Ah," Draco murmured. "So he hasn't had any luck yet?"

"That depends on your definition of luck," Theo said, gesturing at Draco with his tumbler. "More than you, I'd wager."

"I don't know about that," Draco mused, taking a sip of his drink.

"Don't tell me anything actually happened between you and Granger," Blaise said, turning to him. "I thought that was all some sort of weird trick you were playing."

Draco opened his mouth to respond, but something felt wrong in the pit of his stomach. His gaze flickered across the room to where Granger sat, reading a book as her friends chatted. There was a furrow to her brow and she glanced up, as if feeling his gaze. Her expression was unreadable as she stared back.

Draco swallowed, turning back to his mates. "A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell, you know." Then he grinned. "By the way, Blaise, who was it that said Granger was so adventurous?"

Blaise thought for a moment. "I think I overheard it from Goldstein – or maybe it was Boot." He paused, then nodded. "It was Boot. But he had heard it from someone else. I don't know who the lucky sod was."

"Lucky," Draco murmured, glancing up. Granger had returned her attention to her book, a frown lingering on her lips.

"Yes," Blaise nodded. "You've seen her arse, right?"

"I have," Draco said, finding himself unwilling to elaborate. "And on that note, I'll be back." He rose to his feet and crossed the room with his glass, sliding into the spot on the couch beside Granger, whose eyes widened as she turned to him.

"Yes?" she asked, marking her page and setting her book down.

"Are you feeling better?" he responded, leaning one elbow on the back of the couch so he could shift to face her.

"Much," Granger replied, her tone short. Her eyes flashed as she glanced at him, and whispered, "This isn't the place, Malfoy, if that's why you're asking."

"No." Draco blinked. "I was going to see if you wanted to join me for a glass of whisky. You've been working yourself too hard." His hand grazed her arm. "You ought to relax for a bit."

Her expression was guarded as she stared at him. "With your friends?"

"Sure." Draco shrugged. "Or not, if you prefer."

He was aware of dozens of eyes on them; it was the most they had spoken publicly since they had been seen in Hogsmeade together.

His voice was quiet as he leaned in and asked, "This is what you wanted, right? For people to think I'd declared my interest in you?"

A hint of a smile tugged at her lips. "It is a fun side effect, to be sure."

With a smirk, Draco leaned around so his mouth was at her ear. "Despite that we both know you don't  _actually_  want that."

Granger giggled, playing a convincing role for the crowd of onlookers. Across the room, Draco could see Blaise and Theo with their mouths hanging open.

She laid a hand on his chest, her eyes sparkling as she gazed up at him. "I think I will join you for that drink after all." She pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you for asking me."

All of the eyes in the common room tracked their movement when she rose and Draco followed, as they walked over to where Blaise and Theo were, settling onto the couch where Draco had been seated before. Draco poured her a glass then dropped down beside her, slinging an arm across the back of the couch above her shoulders with a smirk.

"Granger," Theo said with a nod, his eyes wide.

Blaise grinned and raised his glass. "Welcome."

"Thank you," Granger said with a demure smile, taking a taste of her whisky. "I do hope I'm not interrupting your conversation. Draco invited me to join you for a drink."

Draco gave her a tight smile, making his best effort at ignoring the way his given name had rolled from her tongue like a caress.

"Not at all," Theo said, forcing a smile. "We were discussing Runes."

"Oh!" Granger exclaimed. "Wasn't Professor Babbling's assignment this week difficult?"

Draco snickered as Blaise and Theo exchanged a look. Drinking a sip of his whisky, Draco slipped his arm down to catch around Granger's shoulders.

Blaise nodded. "Absolutely. It was something else."

Draco knew for a fact neither of them had done the Runes essay yet. His mates exchanged a glance and carried on with their chess match, leaving Draco with Granger.

She shrugged out of his hold and poured herself another half glass of Firewhisky. Taking her cue, Draco shifted away but turned to face her.

"Did you go to the Hospital Wing today?" he asked, brow furrowed.

"Yes," she admitted. "After I felt so awful last night, and didn't feel any better this morning. It turns out, the extra credit potion I brewed for Slughorn yesterday gave off some fumes that didn't agree with me. But Madam Pomfrey was able to fix me up good as new."

She smiled, her eyes sparkling. Before Draco could say anything, she continued, "Thank you, for staying with me last night, and for understanding."

"Of course I understood," Draco scoffed. "I'm not a monster."

"Perhaps we could carry on with our," she paused, gaze flickering around, voice dropping, " _adventure_  together."

Draco swallowed and took a long sip of whisky. "That'd be great."

A coy smile curved her lips. "Once I've finished my drink. And you can follow ten minutes after I leave, so it isn't  _too_  obvious."

Draco chuckled and met her gaze. "As you say. Am I to finish organizing your books first?"

"They're finished," she said. "I did the rest today when Madam Pomfrey released me from the Hospital Wing. I told you last night, I wouldn't ask you to do any more."

Draco shrugged. "I don't know what to expect from you." He smirked, staring at her as he sipped his drink. "Since you've basically got me as your own personal slave."

"If you were a slave, Malfoy, you'd know it," she snickered.

Draco felt a thrill chase up his spine.

"But," she continued, her voice soft, "I'm not  _that_  much of an adventurer, I'm afraid."

Draco laughed out loud, and Theo glanced up with a look of consternation on his face. His brows flickered before he returned his focus to his match, sliding one of his pieces forward.

"Granger, if you were  _that_ much of an adventurer, I wouldn't know what to do with you."

He wondered how he had so quickly come to feel at ease with her – with a girl for whom he had harboured animosity since they had been children.

Without the dark cloud of war hanging over him, everything had become simpler. Even so – it was  _Granger_. But there was something in her eyes as she stared back at him, and he hadn't expected that either.

She leaned back in her seat, the tension easing from her shoulders as she stared around the room.

"Strange, don't you think?" she asked, her voice louder than it had been moments before when they were speaking privately. "To see us all living together."

Draco followed her stare and found he agreed with her. Daphne and Pansy were sitting with a group of boys sporting blue and yellow; Longbottom appeared to be working on homework with Davis and Abbott. Houses mingled all across the room without any regard for it.

And not least of all was him and Granger sharing a drink.

"It is strange," Draco agreed, glancing at her. "And if I'm honest, it's a shame that it took a war to make it happen."

Granger nudged him in the shoulder with hers, and when he looked at her again there was something significant in her expression. "I think the war changed us all, don't you?"

Draco swallowed and nodded. "Absolutely."

He felt a sudden and intense urge to explain himself, to make reparations, to apologize.

"Granger, I –" he began but she shook her head.

"We don't need to have this conversation," she said, her chin low. "Not now, and not ever, if you don't want to. I was at your trial, Malfoy. I'm aware of what you were dealing with."

Draco stared at her. "Don't let me off the hook so easily, Granger." Her sharp gaze caught his and he continued. "That day, when you, Potter, and Weasley were brought to my house… I should have done something."

Her voice was just above a whisper as she asked, "And what would that have achieved?"

"Oh, I don't know," Draco scoffed, "maybe you wouldn't have been tortured on my floor? Or nearly bled out?"

"You would have been killed," she hissed, her tone harsh. "And I probably wouldn't have escaped anyway." She turned to him, exasperation plain on her face. "Look, do you  _really_  want to do this tonight?"

"No," Draco bit out, "but I'm not going to pretend none of it happened."

"Neither am I," she said, her voice softer. "And if you truly want to have this conversation and hash out the past, we can. I think it's respectable of you. But if we go there tonight, I don't think anything else is going to happen."

Draco leaned back, finishing his drink. "It's up to you."

Granger's attention was fixed on Blaise and Theo's chess match as she spoke under her breath, "We are going to have  _this_  particular conversation another time, because right now, I'm going to make up for last night." Her gaze flickered to his and away. "I'll see you in ten minutes."

Then she rose from her seat, and with a brief wave to Blaise and Theo, collected her things and made her way out of the common room toward the dorms.

Draco finished the last of his drink and added another finger for good measure, which he all but slammed. After what might have been five minutes, he collected his bag from the floor and stood.

"Think I'll turn in," he announced to Blaise and Theo; neither looked up from their match.

"Sure," Blaise said. "Have fun." He and Theo snickered.

Draco raised a brow, but turned on the spot and made for his dorm. He dropped his things off and snuck down the hall, tapping softly on Granger's door. Her eyes were wide as she swung the door open and moved out of the way so Draco could walk in.

She had already changed into the same top and sleep shorts from the night before and Draco stifled a groan.

Her head tilted as she stared at him and her lips curled into a smile.

"You look comfortable," Draco managed, giving her a smirk.

"You don't," she returned, reaching up to loosen his tie. Her fingers dragged along the silver and green silk before she rolled it up and set it on the nightstand.

"What's the plan for tonight?" he asked, slipping free the top few buttons of his oxford with one hand, the other drifting to her hip.

"I haven't decided," Granger said with a shrug, staring up at him. "I guess we'll see what we feel like."

Draco gaped at her for a moment before snapping his mouth shut with an audible click of his teeth.

Her hands ran up the front of his shirt and her fingers paused before releasing the next button. "What do you want to do?"

He breathed, "I want to kiss you."

Granger smiled, amused, as she stared up at him and her hands fell away. "Okay." She chuckled, glancing away. "I guess I was expecting you to say something different."

Draco pursed his lips. "Is that bad?"

"It's good," she said, and lifted a hand around the base of his neck, playing with the short strands of hair at his nape while Draco stepped closer and leaned in.

He could feel the warmth of her breath on his lips, and with a surge of anticipation he dove in, pressing his lips against hers. He kissed her again, burying a hand into her curls, and her tongue slipped out to meet his.

While he had enjoyed the slow, teasing pace Granger had set the other day, Draco kissed her harder, backing her into the wall and hitching her legs up to wrap around his waist. A soft whimper escaped her throat as she pressed herself against him, and Draco groaned at the feel of her against his groin.

He bit down on her lower lip, dragging his lips along her jaw and one of her hands reached up to continue loosening the buttons of his shirt.

Letting her down from the wall, he slipped a hand beneath her shirt and she met his gaze as her arms lifted; obliged, Draco tugged the top over her head and she pushed his own shirt from his shoulders. His chin dropped as he stared at her – her eyes were heated as she stared back.

Granger reached out a hand, tracing the line of a long scar that reached across the front of his chest. He swallowed, holding her gaze. She whispered, "Is this from –"

"Yes," he interrupted. "From Potter."

She gave a sort of stuttering nod, her hands lazy and absent as they explored a path down his front, lingering on the leanness of his abdomen. His body flared to life at her touch and his eyelids fluttered as he took a step towards her.

Draco lifted a hand to hold one of her breasts, confined within the cup of her bra, and he gave it a tentative squeeze. His thumb grazed the peak and his lips found hers once more as he weighed the other breast in his other hand. Granger's teeth caught his lower lip as she released a sound that was altogether too feminine and sensual to be allowed.

He pressed against her, dragging both thumbs across her nipples, and she made the sound again, low and drawn out; he felt it shoot straight to his erection.

Her back arched away from the wall as she pressed herself into his hands. Her eyes fell shut and there was a soft furrow to her brow. She was bloody gorgeous and Draco couldn't help but to lean in again and kiss her.

She kissed him back with urgency, even as one of her hands found its way to the thin strands of his hair and he toyed with her nipples, tweaking and rolling, basking in the sounds he was drawing from her.

Draco pulled back, his teeth grazing the curve of her jaw and trailing a path down to the curve of her cleavage, feeling his heart race in his chest like it never had before. He ran his tongue along the line parting her breasts, tugging one of the cups down to expose the flesh before taking the peak between his teeth, laving it with his tongue.

Granger released a cry, her hands fisting in his hair.

He smirked and did it again, his fingers still tugging at the other nipple; he let his breath hover on her skin as he switched sides, taking sweet agony from the way she bucked against him; her name fell from his lips in a groan and he knew he had never been so turned on.

Her hands pulled him closer, quick breaths chasing from her lips and Draco marveled at her sensitivity and expression. Her fingers skated across the muscles of his back and Draco reached behind her to release the clasp of her bra.

Letting the lace fabric fall to the floor at his feet, he took each breast in a hand again. Her nails clawed the length of his back, just enough to bite and he groaned, lips finding hers again with a muttered, " _Fuck_ , Granger."

As her hands tugged at his arse, one hand fiddled with the buckle of his belt and Draco pressed himself closer to her against the wall, feeling the warmth of her bare flesh on his.

Groaning into his mouth, her tongue grazed his and he startled to realize she was pushing his trousers from his hips, and one of her hands was sliding beneath the fabric of his shorts –

"Granger," he huffed, feeling a surge of something as her fingers met his hard length, sliding the shaft and teasing the head. Urgency chased through him as he kissed her again, harder, pressing her back into the wall even as her fingers began a steady rhythm, pumping him with a skilled hand. He toed off his trousers the rest of the way, hands dropping to release the drawstring of her shorts.

Draco swallowed his indecision and inexperience, because Merlin, but Granger was  _so good_  at this and he cursed the tremble to his hand as he toyed with the waistband of her knickers.

But she only pressed closer, grinding herself into his hand and he felt his eyes roll back in his skull as her hand increased in speed. It occurred to him that he was going to juice his own shorts if he wasn't careful, and he pulled back, softening the kiss as he tested the waters of her knickers.

He dipped a finger beneath the fabric, wondering whether she would push him away, and he groaned at the wetness he found, tracing the length of her slit before slipping another finger to join.

It was uncharted territory and he didn't want to mess anything up, but judging by the soft noises she was making, she enjoyed his touch. The pace of her movements lessened, even as she continued to drag her hand along the length of his cock.

"Malfoy," she groaned, her temple pressed against his as he ran his fingers through the slick moisture again. "I want –"

Draco forced a tight breath, murmuring, "What do you want?"

Shifting one leg so he was afforded better access to her, she maneuvered herself as her hand continued to tease and tug at him.

He dipped an experimental finger inside of her, relief chasing through him when she released a cry and eased closer. She whispered against his lips, "I want you."

It was ambiguous, and Draco didn't know the context, so he inserted the same finger again, then two. Her breathing escalated as he fell into an easy rhythm, and soon Granger was clutching his shoulders, her face dropped into his neck. He couldn't believe his luck, and then she was whimpering in his ear, whispering things he couldn't understand until she bucked against him, a cry of his name falling from her lips as she stilled against him.

Granger's eyes blinked open and found his, hazy and glossed over. He wasn't entirely certain, but he thought he  _might_ have brought her to her release; a lazy smile tugged at her lips and she kissed him again, her hand once more building up a rhythm around his shaft, and then she pushed his shorts the rest of the way down so that she could reach him with both hands.

Draco's eyes rolled back at the feel of her hands; it was the first time anyone had touched him other than himself. He allowed himself to be worked back against the wall, doing his best to steady the erratic race of his breathing.

Granger's eyes were lidded as he managed to look at her again, and in a swift movement, she fired him a bit of a grin and dropped to her knees before sweeping her tongue along the slit at the head of his cock.

"Fuck," he choked, fingers coiling in her curls as she laved her tongue along his length and Draco forgot which way was up at what she was doing to him  _now_.

He most certainly wasn't going to hold out long like this – and he didn't; he felt his seed pull up and shoot into the back of her throat with an explosion that blackened his vision for a moment, but Granger didn't move away. Her eyes met his as she swallowed his juices, and it was the most exquisite thing Draco had ever seen. Chest heaving, he watched as she rose to her feet, something akin to embarrassment or shame causing her to avert her eyes, a flush rising to her cheeks.

She straightened her knickers, slipping her shirt over her head once more. Following her lead, Draco righted his shorts, although his mind was still spinning in a thick haze from the aftermath of her ministrations.

He could only gape at her, sliding a hand beneath her jaw to force her to look at him. He opened his mouth to say something suave or cool, instead choking out, "Thanks."

Granger released a sharp, mirthful laugh, a grin coming to her lips. "Thanks, also." Her eyes were coy as they met his, and she fiddled with the buttons of his shirt as he slipped it back on. "I didn't know that we were  _quite_  planning on all that."

Draco didn't know  _what_  he had been planning on, since he had never done  _any_  of that before, but he cracked a smile anyway. "You're the boss."

"Right," she said with a wry look. "So I suppose there's no harm in a little fun between consenting adults."

"No harm," Draco echoed; his mind still spun with the look of her on her knees, his cock in her mouth. Something welled up in his chest, demanding he make some sort of grand declaration or gesture. But his hands landed on her shoulders and he pressed a kiss to her lips; it was startling, to realize she tasted of him, but not altogether unsettling.

He didn't know if he ought to continue staring at her as if she had turned his world upside down simply by giving him his first orgasm  _not_  delivered by his own hand so he swallowed and looked away. His hold tightened on her shoulder. "I'll leave you to it, then."

She averted her stare to the comforter on her bed, and offered, "You can stay, if you like."

"I'll stay." The words were out of his mouth before he could even reconsider and her eyes widened in surprise. "I mean, we've already done  _that_."

Granger laughed, shaking her head. "You're right. That isn't new."

If he wasn't crazy, she seemed a little uncomfortable and awkward too, but that couldn't be the case, given her level of experience. In Draco's limited knowledge, while she had blown his mind to bits, they hadn't done anything  _that_  extreme.

She ducked to the adjoining loo and returned a few minutes later, her eyes bright and a rather forced-looking smile on her lips as she slid into bed. He folded his shirt and trousers into a neat pile on the desk while he waited and then Draco joined her, grazing a hand across her chest before settling it around her waist.

Granger tensed for the briefest of moments before sinking into him, her body soft as her back met his chest. There was silence, then she whispered, "Good night, Malfoy."

Uncertain how to tread any of these waters now floating between them, he pressed a kiss to the side of her curls. "Night, Granger."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Thank you to everyone for reading and for all your wonderful feedback so far! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
> 
> So many thanks to Kyonomiko, my amazing alpha who always keeps on top of my 8-10 active docs at any given time. And to I Was BOTWP, who I'm pretty sure is superwoman with the way she manages her own crazy life and still finds time to be a super beta. Love you ladies xoxo


	5. Chapter 5

It occurred to Draco, somewhere between the time when he awoke with a faceful of Granger's curls and her feet entangled with his, and the time when he had to scramble to make it to his first class in time, that he didn't want to mess this up.

It was his first real shot at having sex, and granted, it was with the only girl he had actually approached, but he wanted Granger to be the one. The one to get him through his  _situation_.

Notwithstanding how enjoyable the night before had been, and the way the memories of her still chased through his mind causing his heart to race, it had brought something stark to light.

Draco didn't have a clue what he was doing.

He had been lucky enough he had managed to apparently please Granger the evening before, but he had been operating on a limited knowledge base and a lot of instinct.

He was only relieved she hadn't caught on – he didn't think.

But if he was going to take things further with the girl, and if he wanted to make it even remotely memorable for her, he was going to require some more information about the inner workings of the human body. Specifically, the  _female_  body. Because Draco knew well enough what did it for him, but it obviously wouldn't carry over.

Channeling the witch herself, Draco ventured to the library the next day after his last class. He was hoping against anything he would be able to get away with prowling the stacks  _without_  bumping into Granger.

He paced the aisles, a scowl fixed on his features should anyone see him, searching for anything that might  _possibly_  help his situation.

His cheeks flamed as he stumbled across a small section on reproductive health, and his fingers fumbled in their haste as he pulled out the nearest few books.

Upon a cursory glance, two of them looked far more clinical than Draco could manage, and he shoved them each back into the shelf, cringing at the significant quantity of words he didn't even recognize.

He had to assume they were for students interested in pursuing Healing. Which, Draco was decidedly  _not_.

The third book had a pale pink cover with dancing flowers in the corners: it looked like it had been written for young girls – which it probably had been. The cover read  _Your Magical Body_ , and he held it at arm's length as he browsed the first few pages. At least it was legible, and it explained well enough what Draco was hoping to learn. He frowned as his gaze flickered over the animated diagrams.

With a furtive glance around, Draco tucked the book inside the top of his book bag so he could haul it into a dark corner for further investigation. The sooner he could get away from this particular section, the better.

Glancing behind him, he made to escape the stacks – and walked into Theo. His oldest friend stared, wide-eyed, brows high on his forehead. Theo cleared his throat, shifting on his feet as he shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his trousers.

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked, unable to make eye contact.

Theo vaguely waved a hand at the stacks from which Draco was attempting to escape. He cleared his throat again. "Same as you, I imagine."

"Right," Draco commented, wishing he could fall into the floor. While he and Theo spoke of many things, often on subject matter most people wouldn't dare broach, somehow  _this_  felt like crossing a line. "For Sally-Anne."

"Yes," Theo said, pressing his lips together. "Don't want to fuck it up, you know?"

They shared a nervous chuckle. Draco's cheeks felt inflamed, and he tugged at his tie to loosen it. "Right, same. Especially since Granger's –"

"Yes," Theo said, toeing the floor. "But you know." His wide hazel eyes met Draco's at last. "Sally-Anne hasn't… either."

"Oh," Draco commented, surprised. "She's a half-blood, isn't she?"

"Yes." Theo cast a furtive glance around, inching further into the aisle. "I'm starting to think Blaise is full of shite – you know, when he said everyone's had sex. Because Sally-Anne says Mandy Brocklehurst hasn't either."

Draco felt the bridge of his nose wrinkle in light of the new information. "Interesting. Well, Granger has, at any rate, so –"

"Are you sure?" Theo asked, grimacing. "Have you asked her?"

He waved a hand in return, considering the question. "I mean, of course she has – Blaise said he heard from Boot who heard from someone else that she's adventurous." He hesitated for another moment, casting Theo a quick glance. "She  _knows_  things."

Theo scoffed as his cheeks pinked. "Of course she bloody does. She's Granger. If anyone can research sex, it'd be her, don't you think?"

Draco froze, feeling the words sink in. She hadn't explicitly confirmed anything, in his vague recollections of their earlier conversations, which were coloured with shame and horror. His mind flashed back to the confident way she had looked up at him the night before from her knees, her lips wrapped around his cock –

"Stop it." Theo smacked Draco on the shoulder with the back of his hand. "Focus, please! I mean, maybe Granger has done things. It's just worth thinking about. Maybe… I mean, you know."

Draco didn't know. He stared at Theo, one brow cocked.

" _You know_ ," Theo hedged, with a leading nod. Then he sighed. "Sally-Anne wants it to be special, right? Since it'll be both of our first times."

Draco blanched. "So if Granger's still a virgin –"

"Right." Theo's hands found his pockets again. "She might want something more than an arrangement for sex, you know?"

Draco ran a hand through his hair. "We  _agreed_. She would have said something then, don't you think?" He didn't know what to make of the situation any more if Granger was expecting something else from him. But she would have mentioned so. And if she hadn't had sex, why was it around that she was adventurous?

"Just," Theo sniped, edging away, "be sure." With a pleading sort of gaze loaded with trepidation, Theo slipped into the aisle.

Draco frowned, turning to venture into the furthest, deepest corner of the library so he could read the frilly pink book he had obtained. Not a chance in Hell was Pince going to see him check the damn thing out, or anyone else for that matter.

He didn't realize how long he had considered the books until he saw Granger's bag on the next table from where he'd dropped his robes and he left his bag on the seat. He could hear a rustling in the stacks nearby and froze. Theo's words danced through his mind and he couldn't help but wonder.

Draco crept closer and spotted the wild cloud of curls that signified her location and he felt a jolt chase through his spine. There was a downturn to her lips, as if in thought, while she held out two books, and her bottom lip slipped between her teeth. Her tie was off, the top buttons of her shirt loose. His groin twitched at the mere sight of her.

Fighting back a grin, he walked up behind her, but still Granger only sighed, returning one of the books to the shelf before her. She was so focused she hadn't even noticed him.

Draco grazed a hand along her hip, nuzzling his nose into her neck; he breathed in the bright scent of her perfume. She froze, tensing at the contact, until Draco smirked against her throat, dropping a kiss to the soft skin there.

"Hi," she whispered, the tension falling from her shoulders as she sunk back into him.

Draco snickered. "Hi, Granger."

She was pliant in his hands as he skimmed one up along her side, skating over her chest as he stepped closer. Her back pressed against him. A breath hitched in her throat as she asked, "How did you find me back here?"

He ran the tip of his nose up behind her ear. "Coincidence."

"Right," she gasped, her head falling to the side. One of her hands found his thigh, her fingers curled in the fabric of his trousers. Draco could feel his body responding to the contact and he was debating shifting away, when her arse shoved back, pressing against him. He hissed out a sharp breath, wrapping an arm around her waist.

He pressed his lips to the curve of her throat, fighting every urge to grind against her. He didn't want to startle her, or Merlin forbid, scare her off.

"I was thinking about you," Granger whispered, and Draco caught the lobe of her ear between his teeth. He could see her eyes were fluttering shut. But then they snapped open and she turned to meet his gaze, a smile curling her lips, and her stare warm.

He gave a gentle squeeze to one of her breasts. "Same."

Granger gave a breathy sort of laugh, letting her head fall back against his shoulder. "I have to work tonight. I need to write a Transfiguration essay."

"It's due in two weeks," Draco muttered against her skin.

"It's in my –" her breath hitched as his teeth grazed her jaw " – time table."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Okay. I understand." He wanted to keep her in his arms but released her instead, taking a step away, though her hand lingered against his leg as he shifted to face her, before falling back to her side. As surreptitiously as he could manage, Draco adjusted his trousers to relieve some of the pressure on his burgeoning erection, while she collected the books she was searching for.

She turned back to smile at him. "You're welcome to work with me… if you like. If you have schoolwork."

Draco blinked, wondering about the lines that existed between them. At the way she had invited him to stay the night in her room, twice, and now to study with her. He wondered whether she also thought things felt blurry. Or maybe she was used to this sort of thing.

At any rate, he wasn't going to read that damned pink book in front of her, but he wasn't inclined to dismiss her offer so easily, either. He cocked a brow and shrugged. "I've got Potions work. And Arithmancy and Runes…" He scratched the back of his neck. "Suppose I'm a bit behind."

Granger's eyes rolled as her lips twitched. "Well then you definitely could stand to stay."

Draco gave her a slow smirk, catching her eye. "Your offer is too good to refuse."

Her fingers trailed the outside of his arm for a moment before she stepped away, leading him back to the nearby bank of tables where Draco had left his bag. He cast a furtive glance around and tucked the pink book deeper into his satchel, before relocating to Granger's table and withdrawing his classwork, parchment, quills, and ink.

Granger gave him a quick, satisfied sort of smile before dipping her quill into her inkpot and setting to work.

* * *

Several hours later, Granger gave a wide, ostentatious yawn and set her quill on the table, turning to face Draco. He had been surprisingly productive, having worked through most of his assignments; Granger had been a peaceful, if utterly silent, study companion.

She stretched out her shoulders, blinking sleepy eyes at him as she covered her mouth to hide another yawn. "I think I'll call it a night."

"Same," Draco returned with a flicker of his brows, as if the timing had merely worked out. "Just about done the last of these Arithmancy problems."

Granger rose and circled the table to his side; she swept her hair out of her face and leaned in, peering at the problem with a knowing hum. "That one was tricky. But you've nearly got it."

The scent of her was in the air all around him; his gaze flickered to the side and met hers. A soft smile lingered on her lips. "Shall I wait for you?"

Draco cleared his throat as she straightened once more, circling back around to pack her things. "If you'd like."

She settled back into her seat to wait as Draco completed the problem; his eyes lifted to meet hers several times, but she didn't seem in a rush. At last he sighed and rubbed at his eyes before packing his things away. He yawned as they made their way back through the library. It was late and the tables were all but deserted, but there was something nice about having Granger at his side.

Until they made to exit the library and an alarm wailed from within, startling Draco from his fatigued state with wide eyes.

"Mr Malfoy," Pince snapped, in the doorway in an instant. "Have you a library book you need to check out?"

He froze, horror pulsing through his veins as he recalled the small pink book that had been all but shoved to the back of his mind since he'd sat down with Granger. She was eyeing him with a look of combined consternation and amusement.

His brain flared; there was no way this could go well.

In an urgent panic, Draco leafed through his bag and shoved the pink book into Pince's hands, ensuring the cover wasn't visible, before turning back to Granger, who was regarding him with a raised brow. The alarms fell silent but his heart continued to race.

"Must have fallen into my bag," he muttered, carding a hand through his hair. Granger opened her mouth to speak, humour dancing in her eyes as they commenced their walk to eighth year dorms, but his jaw clenched. "Don't ask.  _Please_."

She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, shaking her head as they walked.

* * *

Draco didn't hear from Granger for two days, and he hardly saw her in classes until Friday morning when she paced past his table in Herbology, in her brisk sort of way, and dropped a folded sheet of parchment in front of him. Once she was seated, she glanced at him, amusement in her eyes. Draco looked at Blaise, his partner for the class, before releasing the seal on the letter.

_Happy Friday!_

_9:00 in my room?_

_H_

Shielding its contents from Blaise's prying stare, he tucked the parchment into his bag. Draco offered Granger his best smirk when she looked over after preparing for the lesson. But she merely cocked a brow, her quill poised at an angle to her parchment, looking the vision of an attentive student.

A faint twitch to her lips was the last thing Draco saw before she looked away.

The day wouldn't go fast enough, he was sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Thank you everyone for reading! I'm so happy so many of you are enjoying the story so far. 
> 
> Alpha creds to Kyonomiko and beta creds to I was BOTWP!


	6. Chapter 6

By half eight, Draco's nerves were frazzled. He hadn't found time to return to the library to read that blasted pink book about the female body, and he had no clue what Granger had planned for that night. Whether she had another task for him, or whether things might go along in a similar vein to the last time he had visited her room.

His heart was beating almost through his chest and he was surprised Blaise and Theo couldn't hear it. But they were, as usual, deeply immersed in a chess match. Draco pressed his damp hands against the fabric of his jeans; he had changed into a casual outfit after returning to the dorms that evening. He hadn't seen Granger since dinner, when her focus had been on a conversation with her housemates.

Draco cast a surreptitious look at his watch and rose abruptly from his seat, making a show as if to fetch something from his room although he didn't intend to return.

He released a long breath, fixing his hair in the mirror. He had chosen a simple t-shirt to go with his Muggle jeans; as a last minute addition he spritzed himself with his cologne. He slammed a finger of Firewhisky.

His hand was on the doorknob when he returned to collect the bottle and two tumblers. Then he made his way down the hall to Granger's room, and with a furtive glance each way, tapped softly on her door.

"Come in!" Her voice was muffled; he let himself in.

Draco frowned when he saw Granger, shifting several books around on her shelves. She turned to flash him a tight smile. "Are you alright?" he asked, setting the whisky down on her dresser.

"Just fine." Her eyes sparkled as she turned to face him. She let out a small self-deprecating sort of laugh. "I thought you might like to play a game."

Draco eyed her, his brows knitted. "A game."

"Right." She stared back for a moment. "I feel like playing chess."

He scratched the back of his neck. Granger was wearing what must have been four or five jumpers, layered one on top of the other. She had several hats perched on her head, and she seemed to be wearing trousers beneath her leisure pants. Her feet were bulky with multiple pairs of socks.

Draco wasn't sure what he was missing.

"And I figured," she went on, waving a hand, "since Nott and Zabini are always playing, you must know how to play as well."

"I know how to play," Draco returned in a drawl. He chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Granger, is this meant to be some sort of joke?"

Her lips tugged into a teasing smile. "Of course not. We're playing strip chess."

His heart leapt into his throat. "Strip chess." His gaze dropped to his own meagre outfit and he shook his head, feeling humour pull his mouth into a grin. "That isn't fair, Granger, I wasn't given advance notice."

With an idle shrug she walked to the dresser, pouring two glasses from his bottle of whisky and taking a sip. "You're just going to have to win. And fair warning – I'm  _terrible_  at chess."

His mouth was dry and he took a swig of his own whisky as the pieces clicked into place. He waved at hand at her ridiculous ensemble. "So you'll… what, divest yourself of something every time I knock a piece out?"

"Yes." Granger smiled, stepping closer. "As will you."

Draco did a quick count, his gaze dropping down to his clothes. "I'm wearing… seven items of clothing.  _If_  you're counting socks and shoes all separate."

Her voice was soft. "Then you're going to have to win."

He smiled, his tongue catching between his back teeth as he stared at her. His voice dropped as he said, "I accept your challenge, Granger." Bracing his nerves with a deep swig from his whisky, he poured another portion while she transfigured an end table into a chess table and Draco duplicated her desk chair, pulling it up to one side while she slid into the other seat.

There was something endearing about seeing her so awkwardly dressed. None of her items of clothing matched, and he couldn't wait to see her lose them all.

He waved at her as the pieces populated the board. "I'll even let you be white."

"Thanks," she returned, followed by a sip of her whisky and a secretive smile. She slipped a pawn forward two spaces.

Draco's heart skipped and raced in his chest as he slid one of his own forward. He didn't play nearly as often as Theo and Blaise did, but he knew the strategy and theory of it well enough, and he could hold his own. He could only hope Granger's definition of  _terrible_  aligned with his own.

Minutes later, he knocked out the first piece – a white pawn – and Granger peeled a Muggle baseball cap off the top of her head, leaving her in a winter beanie. She tossed the hat into the corner of the room with an exaggerated huff and took another sip from her tumbler.

Draco chuckled. This was  _infinitely_  preferable to organizing her books.

"Granger," he muttered, shaking his head, "this was your best idea yet."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Draco had removed only his shoes, which he set carefully beside the door. Granger had shed several of her hats, a few socks, and two of her jumpers. But she was in good spirits, despite that she was losing.

He grinned as he swept one of her bishops aside with a rook, watching as the pieces fought on the board. "Granger, you're looking warm," he announced, flashing her a grin.

She peeled off her last hat, fixing the disheveled mess of curls beneath. Draco could feel the buzz of the alcohol in his system and didn't think he was making up the glossy sheen to her eyes. But he certainly didn't want them to be drunk, because he was uncertain enough of what he was doing with her when he was sober.

He set his empty cup aside. "I'm curious – what happens if I put you in checkmate?"

Her eyes narrowed in consideration of the thought. "Two articles."

" _Three_ ," he challenged.

She hesitated for a moment. "Two.  _Because_  then we can play another. My chess game needs work, as you can see."

He stared at her, unblinking. "Two," he conceded, "and a kiss."

Draco watched her bottom lip slip between her teeth. "Deal."

Distracted, he missed her next move incoming until he lost a knight, giving her a smirk as he removed a sock and tossed it with his shoes by the door. And then he returned by taking out one of her knights. She tossed her athletic trousers into the heap, leaving her in some sort of stretchy exercise things that hugged her legs in too many ways, and Draco couldn't look away from her arse until she cleared her throat and sat back down.

Three turns later, Draco was left in his shirt, jeans, and shorts. But he smirked, slipping his queen into position. "Checkmate, Granger."

Her nose wrinkled as she peered at the board, then released a huff. "Fine. I suppose you're right."

He chuckled as she tossed a pair of socks in the pile, her eyes squinted. "You weren't lying – you  _aren't_  great at chess."

"I'm not." She rolled her eyes. "But I never had much of an interest, to be honest. Harry and Ron always just played without me. I've decided now I'd like to improve."

Draco hesitated, jarred, at the casual mention of her two friends. It was easy to forget, sometimes, the stark differences between them. The opposing sides upon which they'd existed during the war, and the fact that she was quite literally considered a hero to the majority of the wizarding world.

It was easy, now, to just see her as Granger, when they spent time alone together.

A wrinkle came to her forehead as she stared at him; perhaps she recognized the great divide between them as well. But still, it was only sex, no matter how it was dressed up, and she had agreed to the arrangement the same as he had.

If it bothered her, she was free to walk away.

But he was reminded of the conversation they'd had days before in the common room, and her words rang through his mind. Draco shook the troubling thoughts loose and looked back to her; Granger was still staring at him as if uncertain.

"Right," he ground out, realizing he hadn't responded. "That makes sense."

She sighed, leaning forward into the chess board between them. "Look, Malfoy, if you don't want to continue with this –"

"I do," he said, shaking his head. "I got distracted."

She was silent for a long moment, worrying her lower lip. "I've been trying to keep things between us  _fun_  and easy, because that's what we're here for, right? But I do realize there are certain  _differences_  here that we haven't really addressed."

Offering a half-hearted smirk, Draco shifted in his seat. "You must mean the vast  _chasm_  between us."

Granger clicked her tongue, leaning back once more and folding her arms across her chest. She averted her gaze to land on the pieces reassembling themselves on the side of the board. "Here's how I see it, Malfoy. You approached me for sex, based on some  _hearsay_  which I can only imagine you heard  _somewhere_  second- or third-hand. I agreed, because I found myself interested in the idea of actually enjoying a year at Hogwarts where my life  _wasn't_  at risk."

Her eyes flickered up to meet his again, and she continued, "If you're having second thoughts, there's absolutely no need to carry on."

"I want to carry on," Draco choked. "I just… there are so many others, if you only wanted to have some fun, you know."

Her lips curled with a hint of amusement. "I know. But your proposition was just  _so_  endearing. And maybe… I wanted to give you another chance. To prove that you're different this year. To prove that just  _maybe_ … the war affected you too."

He could feel the sentiment in his bones.

"It affected me too." His mouth felt dry.

She whispered, "That's what I thought."

There was an overwhelming tension hovering in the air between them and Draco was torn between wishing they hadn't broached the subject and baring his soul. Instead he did neither, fixing a tight stare on her. "I like this. What we're doing."

"Me too," she said, with a hint of a smile. "As bizarre as it may look from the outside." She glanced away, fidgeting with a pawn. "But they don't need to know."

"Right." He'd never noticed before, the beautiful shade of her eyes. He contemplated the thought.

"What I  _am_  curious about, however, is what you actually heard that made you approach me, of all the girls at Hogwarts."

Unable to read the expression on her face, Draco propped an ankle on his knee and turned to look at her book case. "I told you – I heard you were adventurous."

"In general?" she asked, cocking a brow. "Or... sexually?"

He felt uncomfortable. "Sexually. I heard it, yeah."

"So that's what does it for you, then? Ropes and handcuffs and – that sort of thing?" Her eyes were still squinted as she stared at him. " _Adventurous_. I wonder who said that."

Draco nearly choked at her flippant mention of handcuffs, and wished he had filled his glass. He didn't know anything about  _any_  of that – maybe Blaise was right that he was in over his head with a girl like Granger.

He rubbed the back of his neck and muttered, "I don't need any of that."

Averting her eyes again, she shrugged. Her voice was a lot softer when she spoke once more. "I don't know much about those things. If that's what you were hoping for. It turns out I'm less adventurous than you're expecting."

There was something in the downcast tilt of her gaze, the way she chewed on her lip, and the tension in her shoulders. He opened his mouth to confess the truth, just as she spoke again, "I've actually –"

"We should –"

She frowned, waving a hand to signify for him to go on.

Draco drew in a long breath, his nerve escaping him. He didn't know if Granger would walk away if he didn't even know the basics. "I'm not expecting anything like that."

The tense silence lingered in the room as she reset the chess pieces. "We should carry on, then."

"Right. The second game." He nodded, relieved the conversation had turned. Now he was stuck with the niggling thought that he should be honest about the experience she could expect from  _him_  – but something stayed his tongue. He didn't  _want_  her to walk away.

Before he could think any further on it Granger leaned forward, standing from her seat. Her fingertips landed on his cheek as he caught her eyes and she pressed her lips to his, a brief pressure.

Draco had almost forgotten about the other stipulation that went along with his checkmate. His eyes fluttered shut as he returned the kiss, chaste and soft, but there was a lingering edge to it. She didn't immediately draw back and he swept a hand along her jaw, sliding it back into her hair.

As she drew away, he could still feel the warmth of her breath on his lips, and her gaze landed on him as she retook her seat, a hint of a smile lingering on her face.

There was a sparkle in her eye he didn't always see, and it occurred to Draco how ridiculous the situation was. Granger was down numerous layers from where she had started, but her outfit was still mismatched, her curls out of order, and there was a flush to her cheeks from the whisky.

He snickered as he stared at her, feeling a smile pull at his lips, as he tried to imagine  _any_  other girl he knew doing something like this. Everyone else would have sneered at the impropriety and the fact that she had put herself on the line hoping he would play along with the game.

Granger had never really cared what anyone else thought – it was one of the things about her at which Draco had scoffed as a child.

In that moment, however, something felt different. He appreciated that Granger wasn't like every other girl, and that she wasn't afraid to be herself around him, despite that they'd only made their arrangement a couple of weeks prior.

"What?" she whispered, startling Draco; he blinked upon realizing he'd still been staring at her.

With a soft chuckle, he looked away. "You aren't like any other girl at Hogwarts, are you?"

"No." Her answer was bold and defiant, yet soft, as if she wasn't quite certain how he would respond. "I would have thought you realized that by now."

His fingers fidgeted with one of the white pawns that had swapped to his side of the board for the second match. He slid one forward two squares before looking back to her. "Maybe I'm just noticing it now." He hesitated, pouring a small measure of whisky into his empty glass and taking a swig, even though he could already feel the alcohol in his system. "Maybe I never looked close enough before."

"Merlin," she breathed, her fingers hovering above the board. "This isn't all some act, is it?"

Her tone suggested the question to be rhetorical, but Draco shook his head all the same. "No." He shifted in his seat, feeling uncomfortable with the conversation. "Not beyond what we've discussed."

"Of course," she returned, her expression falling neutral. "About having sex."

"Right." The word tasted wrong on his lips.

Granger shifted her first pawn forward, with an echoed, "Right."

They fell into a tense silence as they played out the game; the playfulness was gone from her smile and her movements as he knocked out one of her pieces after another. Draco wondered if it was something he'd said or done, but there was a hesitation in her stare as she wound up in her sleep top and shorts. He'd lost his trousers and shirt, and found himself in only his shorts.

She'd snickered as he pulled his shirt over his head, holding her gaze.

"You'd better not lose any more pieces," she said, her voice quiet and teasing.

"I won't," Draco assured her, eyeing the remaining articles she wore. He slipped his queen into position. "Checkmate."

Her eyes narrowed as she took in the position of the pieces, before releasing an exaggerated sigh and rising from her seat. His mouth was dry as she removed her top and shorts, leaving her in just her bra and knickers.

Draco was grateful to notice the tension between them had dissipated and he swallowed the last of his drink, standing and vanishing the duplicate chair.

The last time they had met, everything had been so heated and quick he hadn't really taken the time to observe her figure. He only realized he was staring when she took a step closer; her eyes were lidded when he met her stare.

His shorts were uncomfortably tight and he felt exposed knowing she could see the evidence of his hard-on if she looked down.

She folded her arms across her chest, a smile curving her lips. "So I told you I wasn't very good at chess."

Draco swallowed. "We'll have to work on it, I guess."

Granger released a laugh, bright and genuine, before stifling a yawn behind her hand. The action pulled at his reflexes and he yawned as well, realizing how late it was, and how the whisky was making his thoughts fuzzy.

She took another step closer, one of her hands catching his and their fingers entwining. She muttered, "I guess we'll have to."

His heart pounded with a wild voracity in his chest and he was reminded with a stark realization that he had no idea what came next between them, and he hadn't had a chance to look into any of the details of it. Maybe she expected him to make a move, but he didn't know how much whisky she'd had to drink and he didn't feel right pushing anything between them –

Her warm lips met his, breaking the trail of thoughts rampant in his head. Her tongue teased his, and his free hand found the back of her neck, slipping beneath her curls to bring her closer. Draco could feel the silk of her bra against his chest, and he was reminded of how little they both wore as she pressed against him, grazing the hardness of his cock.

With a nip to her lower lip, Draco drew back, meeting her eyes.

She whispered, "Your victory kiss."

Draco managed a choked, "Right." He felt as if his hesitation was an obvious clue as to his inexperience and he wished he could manage more confidence in the moment.

But Granger took a step back, her fingers trailing his arms as she ducked her head to conceal another yawn. She looked back up, smiling. "What did you have in mind?"

He caught her fingers between his again, finding he liked the way her smaller hands fit into his. "You seem tired."

"A little," she admitted, shrugging at him. "But never mind that. We can have a lie-in tomorrow if we want."

Something about her casual inclusion of him in the statement tugged at his chest. Draco conceded, "I'm tired, too. We don't need to do anything tonight if you prefer."

Her brows pulled together and her bottom lip caught between her teeth. "Are you certain?"

"Yes," Draco responded, feeling torn. He absolutely  _wanted_  to have sex with her, but he didn't want to disappoint her, and he didn't know how she would react if he told her the truth now. "We can just sleep. Maybe tomorrow."

"Okay. Tomorrow." She gave his hand a squeeze before extracting her fingers and ducking into the loo. She emerged wearing her sleep clothes again and Draco nearly cursed himself until she dragged him to the bed alongside her with an absent smile.

He settled into her bed and Granger tucked herself back against his chest. Sweeping her hair out of the way, Draco pulled her closer, his hands grazing her sides. She'd removed her bra and he caught one of her breasts through the thin fabric of her shirt, teasing the peak, and his cock twitched again at the soft groan she released.

Draco felt sleepy and he enjoyed the way her eyes fluttered as she settled against him. Still he couldn't resist dropping a gentle, lingering kiss to the spot behind her ear before catching the skin of her lobe between his teeth.

With parted lips, Granger shivered and pressed her arse against him, slow and methodical.

Slipping a hand beneath the narrow strap of her shirt, Draco felt experimental now that his momentary panic over having sex with her had subsided. He slid the strap down along the curve of her shoulder, taking her breast in his hand and shifting so he could lave it with his tongue.

The soft noises she made were music, and she ground back against his hardness; if he wasn't careful Draco was going to lose it in his shorts.

Her fingers reached back to thread his hair and she turned her face to his, bringing him into a kiss. Gently, her tongue teased his, like the slow rhythm of her arse against him.

Kneading her breast with one hand, he kissed her, his heart pounding in his chest and blood roaring in his ears at the all-encompassing feel of her. It took all of his self-control to pull away with a sharp breath, and Granger blinked up at him, her chest rising rapidly as he straightened her shirt.

His hard-on was uncomfortable in his shorts.

Granger's face was flushed and she gave a sort of stuttering nod as she whispered, "Tomorrow."

Draco wanted to say fuck it – his situation wasn't ideal but maybe she would understand and still want to go through with it – except for the glazed quality to her eyes. He muttered, "When we haven't been drinking."

A flicker of surprise crossed her face. "Right. That's… respectable."

Settling back alongside her, he shifted slightly so her succulent arse wasn't so close to his erection, and he scoffed. "It's only proper."

The feel of her in his arms – that was something he hadn't expected.

Her voice was soft and thick with sleep. "Of course. Good night, Malfoy."

Draco felt a heavy pull at his eyelids. "Good night, Granger."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Thanks for reading everyone! This chapter is brought to you a day early thanks to LadyKenz347, because as it turns out, I can be bribed with pretty things (check it out on tumblr - @indreamsink). I hope you liked the chapter - I'd love to hear your thoughts on everything! xoxo
> 
> Alpha love to Kyonomiko and beta love to I was BOTWP.


	7. Chapter 7

Draco stirred into awareness to see a pair of sleepy chocolate eyes blinking at him. Granger's face rested on the inside of his arm like a pillow, her hands lingering against his chest. Lips quirking into a soft smile, her eyes fell shut again, with a quiet, "Morning."

"Good morning," Draco returned, his voice thick with sleep as he adjusted his hold on her. For a long time he hadn't been sleeping so well, and it crossed his mind that he was growing used to waking up like this. He sucked in a deep breath. "What are you doing today?"

He shifted, sinking deeper into the softness of her pillow, of half a mind to fall back asleep.

But Granger yawned, stretching herself out. "Library, most likely. We've got that Defense exam next week and –"

Clicking his tongue, Draco pulled her back against him. He muttered, "Boring. It's Saturday."

Laughing, her face rolled towards his. "And what are you doing that's so much better?"

"Hogsmeade." His mouth dried as her eyes met his. Eighth years were allowed free access to the village on weekends. Granger's expression remained carefully blank as her gaze shifted to land on the ceiling.

"That'll be fun, I expect," she mused.

Draco rolled onto his back, swallowing; the fuzzy bubble in which he had awoken had popped and he could feel the tension in her body. He wished there was more clarity around what they were to one another. Steeling his nerves, he murmured, "Come with me."

Her breath hitched but she didn't look at him. "What for? It isn't a task or anything."

"Does it need to be?" The words escaped before he could stop them. He had grown increasingly cognizant of the fact that he enjoyed spending time with her, and he didn't want to wait until she decided on the next time.

The silence between them hung thick and heavy as Granger hesitated. Her voice was soft when she finally spoke. "I suppose not."

Draco snickered, attempting to infuse some lightness into the situation. "I mean, the school already thinks we're together."

Her answering smile looked forced.

Maybe it had been a bad idea to ask her. Maybe she didn't want to cross  _that_  specific line, despite everything else they had already done.

His asking her without it being a stipulation of the deal sounded too much like a real date, and maybe she didn't want that. It wasn't a part of their agreement, and she was going to back out and –

"I'd like that," she said, settling back to lean into him again. She stifled a yawn, her eyes fluttering. Draco slung an arm across her stomach, pulling her close. He teased the exposed skin at her hip where her shirt had shifted in sleep. "But perhaps first a few more minutes of sleep."

He wondered whether she could feel the way his heart slammed in his chest.

Draco wasn't certain whether she truly wanted to go with him, or if she was just being friendly. The last thing he wanted to do was to push and overstay his welcome with her – if she didn't want to spend any extra time with him.

What they  _should_  have done at the very start was set clear rules of engagement for this agreement. That way they both would have known what to expect, and how to navigate the boundaries between them.

And after they had sex, that would be the end of it. Draco would be free to pursue whomever he liked and Granger could move on to someone with more experience. The thought seized at his chest like a vice; his throat felt thick and breathing impossible.

He didn't want her to move on to someone else. But once the arrangement was completed… she would.

The evenness of Granger's breathing fell around him, but Draco was wide awake.

* * *

Draco was seized with a strong awareness of nerves when Granger slipped into his room just before lunch. She wore a forest green knit jumper and jeans, her hair in loose curls around her shoulders. Her eyes sparkled as she took a seat on his bed, folding her legs beneath her.

"Are you nearly set to go?" she asked, eyeing him as he sorted through his book bag.

"I'm ready," Draco acquiesced, setting his things aside. He approached the bed, and her lips curled into a smile as she looked up at him. Swallowing, he took her hand and gave it a tug, bringing her to her feet before him. "Just waiting on you."

His heart had been racing since he'd awoken. For one, Granger had inferred  _something_  with regards to tomorrow, the night before. And for another – Draco was starting to wonder if he had the nerve to follow through with it, if she  _did_  want to have sex.

It would be readily apparent he didn't have a clue what he was doing – and furthermore, he wasn't sure he wanted to let go of whatever it was between them just yet.

When Blaise had planted the seed, Draco was sure it would be a singular itch to scratch, and then he would simply move on. But there was something about Granger, and the way she looked at him as if he deserved more than he did. She wasn't so proper he was afraid to offend her, and she didn't seem to worry about being herself around him.

He wasn't entirely certain what he had done to earn her attention, but the selfish part of him didn't want to give that up so easily.

Snapping back to reality, he realized Granger was giving him an odd look. He pressed his lips into an unconvincing smile and offered his arm. She slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and tucked herself into his side, waving a vague hand towards the door. "Shall we?"

* * *

Granger had a bright, authentic laugh, and a beautiful smile. The thought occurred to Draco as he snickered, watching as Granger gasped for breath and swiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

He didn't think his comment about Divination had been  _that_  funny, but he felt himself chuckling along.

Several patrons of the Three Broomsticks were eyeing the pair of them with thinly veiled skepticism and Draco found he didn't mind that either. It was an interesting juxtaposition from the first time they had been to Hogsmeade together, when Granger had been stiff but charming – when he'd later realized it was all an act.

If she was making an effort at pretense today, he couldn't tell. But there wasn't anything to prove this time, like there had been the first. She hadn't requested he take her out – he had offered.

And  _maybe_  she had been keen on the idea as well, and hadn't only agreed out of pity or some other misguided reason.

But none of it changed the fact that everything between them was temporary, and the clock was ticking.

"So," Granger prompted, settling back in her seat. She took a long sip of her butterbeer, dabbing at her mouth with her handkerchief. "What's today actually about?"

Draco shrugged, feeling a twinge in his gut. "Nothing more than it appears." He hesitated, glancing away. "I find I enjoy your company."

She cocked a brow, even as her expression softened. "I'm surprised you aren't sick of me yet. Swotty Granger." A hint of a teasing smile lingered on her lips. "But I appreciate that."

Huffing a breath through his nose, Draco shook his head. "I'd think it would be the other way around. You really have no need to still be spending time with me."

"We made an agreement," she returned, though her tone was uncertain. "Although… I'm not entirely certain what that looks like anymore." She took a sip of her drink, tapping her fingers on the wooden table. "Suppose I've strung you along well enough at this point. If you're still wanting to have sex, that is to say…"

Draco frowned, watching her struggle with her words. He didn't want to say anything contradictory for fear of chasing her off, but he hoped she realized that wasn't all it was. "I do," he said, and quickly added, "want to have sex."

She gave a sharp nod, her eyes bright. "Of course. Same." He could feel her hesitation, as if she had more to say.

Summoning the dregs of his courage, Draco released a long breath. He owed her the truth – and then she could decide whether she still wanted to proceed. "The thing is, Granger –"

"I'm not very adventurous," she blurted, eyes wide with horror as she cut him off. "I mean, I don't even really – I'm not sure who told you that, or where  _they_ heard it, but – " Granger winced, pressing her lips together. "I don't think I can give you what you're hoping for."

Draco rubbed the back of his neck, frowning. "You think that's what I…" he trailed off, blinking.

"Right." She gave a voracious nod. "That's what you said – after you approached me in the library. I mean, I don't even know that I'm that  _good_  at sex to be perfectly honest."

There was a flush in her cheeks and Draco wondered where this abrupt change in topic had come from. Her gaze fell to land on the table, her hands fidgeting atop the surface.

"Seriously," he choked, shaking his head. "That's not –" He swallowed a thick lump in his throat, observing the tension in Granger's shoulders, as if she were preparing to run. "Granger, I've never even  _had_  sex."

Instantly, her eyes snapped to his and Draco could only hear a dull pounding in his ears as something flitted through her expression. Then her brows curved up, incredulous, and she released a snicker. With a nervous laugh, she said, "Nice one, Malfoy."

His hands were damp and Draco pressed them against his trousers. "I mean it – I've not."

She clicked her tongue and shook her head. "I find that incredibly difficult to believe. But I appreciate the effort." Once more, she averted her gaze, and swallowed. "I think maybe you'd be better off finding someone else to share in your adventures. I'm sorry to have wasted your time."

Draco gaped at her, shaking his head. "Where is this coming from? I thought we've been getting on well enough."

"I don't know," she muttered, looking uncomfortable.

"We  _have_ ," Draco hissed in answer to his own statement, lowering his voice. "I told you – I like spending time with you."

"But this is all about sex to you," she said, her cheeks red as she muttered at the table. Then she released a long breath and lifted her face to meet his. "And maybe I find that's no longer what I'm interested in."

Her words hit like a blow to the chest, and Draco felt his stomach roll and toss with an unexpected intensity. "What do you mean?"

"I can't lead you on." She shook her head. "Not when my interests lie elsewhere."

"Someone else," Draco muttered, feeling his own cheeks flame with annoyance and shame at himself for believing there was a chance for something more. He felt his face pull into a sneer, but her eyes widened before he could continue.

"No! That isn't what I meant."

"Then what?" Draco asked, waving his hands. He was cognizant of several sets of eyes on him and he wished they weren't doing this in such a public location; he lowered his voice even though no one was close enough to listen in. "I told you – I don't give a rats arse about the adventure thing."

"And I'm supposed to believe  _you're_  a virgin," she intoned, something in her voice that Draco couldn't quite unpack.

"I  _am_ ," he ground through his teeth, "though this wasn't how I wanted you to find out, believe me."

Granger shook her head, eyes wide. "So what, then, you were just looking to –"

Draco's eyes slid to the side, unable to answer the question. Hot shame rolled through him at the realization that he  _was_  just looking to find someone to give it up to. He tapped an anxious rhythm on the table. "At first."

Granger released a scoff, and he couldn't tell if it was composed of anger or hurt. In case it was the latter, he couldn't meet her stare.

"But not anymore," he added, his voice softer.

"Was this all," Granger breathed, swiping at an eye, "some sort of trick, or a dare, or some convoluted means of getting back at me over something?"

"Fuck no," Draco hissed, leaning in. "I told you exactly what it was at the start – I just didn't tell you why."

Her mouth twisted to the side and she stared at him, as if trying to decide whether she believed him or not. But her expression fell and she shook her head. "At any rate – I can't go forward with this anymore. I'm sorry."

She rose from her seat and Draco panicked, following suit. His eyes narrowed and he whispered, "Why?"

Defiance shone in her glossy eyes as Granger folded her arms across her front and met his stare. "Because I didn't think it was just about sex anymore and I didn't feel right doing that to either of us. But now… I don't know what to think at all."

"It isn't about just sex," he grit out, and her eyes met his again, guarded and distant.

He thought of the way she had looked only the night before, dressed in a dozen layers, her cheeks flushed and hair wild. The way she had felt in his arms, pressed against him. The touch of her lips on his.

"Merlin, Granger." He shook his head, lifting a hand towards her, but he let it fall. "I don't think it was ever  _just_  sex."

She forced a smile, her eyes watery. "Maybe we both ought to give this some thought. And then… maybe we can take another look from there."

He wondered if her words were meant to convince him or herself.

And something deep within him shattered as Granger wrapped her arms around herself and walked away.

* * *

There must have been a heavy weight to his countenance when Draco sank into his usual seat beside Blaise on the couch that evening. He'd stood outside of Granger's room for fifteen minutes once he had returned from Hogsmeade after dinner, in a futile effort to find the nerve to knock, before venturing to the common room.

Unsurprisingly, she wasn't present.

Blaise poured him a generous measure of whisky and Draco saluted with the glass before downing half of it. He winced at the burn, setting the glass down. "Where's Theo?"

"With Perks," Blaise responded, eyeing Draco from the corner of his eye. " _You_  aren't with Granger."

Draco pursed his lips and took another long swig. "Nope."

Brows flickering, Blaise waved a hand. "Fucked it up?" Draco shot him a scowl. "Want to play chess?"

He thought of Granger, the night before, losing spectacularly in her knickers and bra and his jaw felt painfully tight. "Nope."

Blaise snickered and sank into the couch before Draco, propping his feet up on the coffee table. "Noted. On to the next on your list, then?"

Melancholy churned in his mind and Draco frowned. "No more list."

For the first time in Draco's recollection, Blaise didn't push, but merely filled up Draco's glass.

Granger couldn't avoid him forever – and she had given the impression that she was interested in  _more_. He knew the feeling was mutual, but he hadn't managed to get  _that_ particular point across in the incredible mess of a conversation they'd had earlier.

He would spend Sunday attempting to track her down, if need be. But for now, Draco was content to drown his sorrows in a burning glass of amber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Thanks as always for the wonderful support on this story. I've been working on lots of fun things coming up that I'm looking forward to sharing with you all!
> 
> Alpha and beta gratitude to Kyonomiko, and I was BOTWP, respectively.


	8. Chapter 8

A week following their spat/pseudo-breakup at the Three Broomsticks, Draco had come to a realization. Granger had a gift – and the gift was avoidance.

He hadn't caught her alone for a single minute during the past week, despite spending the bulk of his time trying to track her down.

In classes she was quick to dart from the room before he could pack his things. In the Great Hall, she always managed to duck away while he was in conversation with Blaise or Theo.

The few times he had seen her in the common room, they had been on their way to classes with no time to talk. And she'd been surrounding herself with friends, as if that would deter Draco.

It was her idea to make the entire school think they were dating, and now he didn't give a rat's arse that the entire school thought they were dating. If anything, it should have made it easier to talk to her.

Only once had he worked up the nerve to knock on her door, without even knowing if she'd actually retreated to her room or if she had snuck out into the greater castle to hide somewhere more obscure.

She had been the one to say they would consider things and discuss from there. But now Draco was just growing irritated at her continued avoidance of him. She was a bloody Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake. But she certainly wasn't acting it.

Friday after classes, he had hovered outside of the Charms room, her last class of the day, but somehow he must have just missed her. Which led him to the common room, moodily sipping a glass of Firewhisky, while Granger sat with half a dozen friends.

He would look like an arse if he interrupted – but Draco was quite certain he didn't care about that anymore.

And to make matters worse, Theo and Perks were fawning over one another to Draco's right, whispering what he was certain were unimportant bits of rainbows and sunshine.

It was doing nothing for his mood.

And Granger was talking to  _Longbottom_ , of all people. She was sitting beside him, her shoulder brushing his as she swept her hair out of her face, her eyes warm with a laugh.

_As if_ Longbottom was Draco's competition. He didn't even know how he had ended up in such a position, pining over someone who, until a couple months ago, never even crossed his mind. But now he couldn't stop thinking about her. Not only the way she'd kissed him, and touched him, but how she felt in his arms. How she wasn't afraid to be herself with him, and she didn't make efforts at pretense. The way her entire face lit up with a smile when she looked at him.

No one had ever looked at him like that before – he'd always thought no one would.

And she had  _said_  she was interested in something other than sex. So why was she giggling with Longbottom like a floozy?

He must have been fuming in her direction, because her eyes snapped up to meet his with something like alarm, and the smile dropped from her face. Draco loosened his grip on his glass, forcing his expression blank.

She looked away with a nervous chuckle at something someone had said, but Draco kept his eyes fixed on her as he took a long sip of whisky.

Her gaze flickered to his again after a moment, and her lips pressed into a thin line, her eyes narrowing a bit.

Good. He was irritated with her dismissal and he'd searched all week for any indication that she was affected as well. Maybe if he made her angry enough she'd have no choice but to talk to him.

But just as quickly the irritation fell from her face, to be replaced with a furrowed brow and a downward curve to her lips. Draco set his tumbler on the coffee table, harder than he'd intended, and rose from his seat.

Granger shifted in her seat as he walked nearer, but when he was close she muttered something to her friends and collected her bag, standing to meet him.

_Finally_.

She huffed a long exhale as she followed him to the dormitory corridor, her arms folded across her chest and her body radiating with tension. Draco fixed her with a hard stare outside of his room.

"We need to talk."

She lifted a brow and her lips twitched for an infinitesimal moment before her face fell stoic once more. "I told you – I needed to think about things."

"And then you turned into a bloody escape artist," Draco muttered, feeling the harsh sting of her words from a week ago all over again. He leaned against the wall, uncomfortable, but he didn't want to ask her into his room if she was going to take it wrong. "You didn't give me a chance to explain my side of things, Granger."

Her head tilted to the side, and she cocked one hip out. "Fine, then. Explain."

He cast a furtive glance down the hallway towards the common room, but Granger stood firm. "Fine." He frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't want to just have sex with you, Granger."

Her expression softened as she let out a breath. "I'm not sure I know what to believe anymore."

"Believe  _me_ ," Draco ground through his teeth. "Haven't I been honest with you this entire time?"

Her brows flickered. "Aside from the fact that you're now claiming you're a virgin?"

His cheeks warmed with a flush. "I am."

Granger stared at him for a long moment, shaking her head. "So be honest – you wanted to use me as a means to get it over with so you could move on with other girls."

Unwilling to lie, he pressed his lips into a thin line. "My motivations have changed."

Her nose wrinkled as she stared at him. " _Obviously_ , I'm aware the original arrangement was for sex only. I had no delusions on that front. But tell me –  _why_  would you proposition a girl you'd specifically  _heard_  to be adventurous when you had no experience?"

Draco gave a mild shrug, wanting nothing more than to be done with this entire disaster and drag her into his room. "I must not have been thinking straight."

She paced a step forward, toeing the floor between them. "Let me guess – swotty Granger is more experienced than Draco Malfoy? How could that be?" She gave a mocking sort of astonished gasp, her lips twitching for a moment with a hint of a smile.

He stood his ground, holding her gaze. "Maybe I wanted the best."

"Please," she whispered, rolling her eyes. "You and I both know you never thought of me that way."

"Like I said," Draco went on, "my interests have changed." He swallowed, fighting the urge now to duck into his room and hide. "I want to have sex with you, Granger, make no mistake about that – but more importantly I want to take you out. On a real date."

"Saturday felt like a real date," she breathed, a sad smile gracing her features. "At least, I thought it did. Maybe it made me panic because I thought we wanted different things."

"Granger," he choked out, shaking his head. "You've had me in a panic since you agreed to sleep with me."

She tittered, her eyes bright before she tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. "If it helps, you've been convincing. I wouldn't have known, if you hadn't told me that you were inexperienced."

"You'd have found out when I didn't have a clue where anything went," he admitted, feeling a hot flush come to his cheeks as she released a full laugh.

"Honestly." Her voice was soft as she took another step across the hall, leaning against the wall beside him. "It's quite instinctive, once you know the basics." Her eyes met his, and Draco could feel his body heating up at the thought of it. Her lips quirked into a smile. "And  _then_  comes the adventure – or so I'm told."

Draco chuckled, feeling as if his brain might explode. "So you  _aren't_  really."

"As far as I'm aware?" She gave a shrug. "Probably not by most standards.  _Some_ , maybe."

Her eyes sparkled and Draco's mouth felt dry; he swallowed, his throat thick and cumbersome. "Let me take you on a date. Hogsmeade, flying,  _studying_ – let me prove it to you."

"Flying," she scoffed with an indelicate snort. "Nice try."

His lips pulled into a smirk as he grazed her arm with the tips of his fingers. "You might enjoy it."

"If you could  _somehow_  make me forget I was suspended in mid-air on a stick of wood, maybe," she conceded. "But I  _highly_  doubt it."

"That sounds like a challenge," Draco mused, folding his arms. "And you do realize I know what I'm doing – in  _that_  area of life – and I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

"Of course you wouldn't," she muttered, "because I'd come back from the dead just to kill you. Don't think I wouldn't."

"I don't doubt it." He held up his hands in surrender. "Maybe we'll have to work our way up to flying."

Granger scowled, glancing down the hallway at the sound of voices. "My entire weekend is already scheduled in the library, I'm afraid. But if you're serious about this – you could always join me."

Draco frowned, uninterested in wasting his entire weekend studying. But it felt suspiciously like a test. "Granger, I'm going to be the best fucking study partner you've  _ever_  had."

Her lips twitched with a smile.

* * *

When Granger had said she was going to spend the entire weekend studying, she meant it.

She was already neck deep in parchment, quills, and assorted texts by the time Draco dragged himself into the library Saturday at half ten. She glanced up at his arrival with a tight smile but said nothing as he settled himself beside her at the table.

At noon she rose from her chair and Draco sighed with relief, expecting she'd be making the trip to the Great Hall for lunch, but she merely performed a series of stretches and retook her seat. Draco eyed her with suspicion, wondering whether she simply wouldn't eat, but she drew some sort of pre-packaged food bars from her bag, handing him one and opening the other.

"Thanks," Draco muttered as he peeled the wrapper back on his own confection. His throat felt dry and he realized it was the first word spoken between them.

He wondered with genuine interest how she wasn't already through all of her classwork if she kept such rigid study habits.

It was past three when Granger set down her quill with a huff. "These Arithmancy questions are quite trying, don't you think?" Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

Draco gave a shrug, stretching out his neck. "I haven't started that assignment yet." He reached over to take the sheet of parchment she'd been working at, reading the problem and scanning her work. He tapped her answer with a finger. "Here – you've made an error."

Her mouth fell open as she swiped the page back. "You're right!"

With a few scratches she completed the problem; when she turned back to face him she was beaming. Draco smirked and returned to his essay.

When Draco's watch suggested the time was nearly six – and he couldn't believe he'd been working on classwork uninterrupted for almost eight hours – he cast Granger a wary glance.

"Do you think we should go to dinner?" she asked, chewing her bottom lip.

"Yes." His response was instant; his stomach felt like it had been eating itself for the last hour. With a sharp nod, she began to organize her notes and pack them away into her bag. "This has been fun, Granger. What are you doing after dinner?"

Draco was an excellent student, and his classwork was typically impeccable, but even he wasn't used to spending an entire day focused in.

"What do you mean?" she asked, as she stood and swung her bag over her shoulder. "I still have an entire Charms essay to write."

Draco stifled a groan and forced a smile. "Wonderful."

* * *

By three o'clock Sunday afternoon Draco was idly drafting a list of excuses to sneak away from the library. They hadn't returned to the dorms until nearly ten the night before, and Draco had been nursing a headache from staring at small copy all day. He'd slept like a rock.

Granger was already up when he rose and ventured to the Great Hall. He took his time with a large breakfast in case the day would be a repeat of the one before, and then stowed a few apples into his bag for later.

Although Granger's wrapped bar snack had been tasty, it hadn't been a substitute for a full meal in Draco's opinion.

She shifted beside him in her seat, rubbing at her eyes as she stretched out her shoulders. "I'm getting quite fatigued," she confessed.

Draco's heart leapt in his chest. "We can go, if you like." He folded the list and tucked it at the bottom of his bag.

Granger gave a bit of a shrug. "I'm not quite finished yet." Draco kept his expression carefully blank as she turned to him with a smile. "Thanks for spending so much time with me. You've really been a wonderful study partner."

He nudged her with his shoulder. "Anytime."

She released a bright, incredulous laugh, before covering her mouth with a hand, casting a furtive glance around. No one else was in their section of the library. "I don't usually spend the entire weekend here, by the way." She pressed her lips into a thin smile. "It's just been so much fun to watch you squirm."

Draco gaped at her, his eyes narrowing. "You've got to be kidding me."

Her smile widened.

Rolling his shoulders, Draco shook his head. "So are you leaving soon then?"

She skimmed her essay with a tilt to her head. "Soon. Six inches or so to go."

Draco might have been annoyed with her for the way she had tricked him, but he had virtually caught up on all of his classes and that was a substantial load off. Even so, he was itching for a fly and considered packing up his books for the afternoon.

"I  _do_  appreciate you staying with me. I thought you weren't going to come at all today, after last night." She gave a little laugh, her eyes meeting his. Then she returned to her essay, quill scritching on the parchment.

Draco released some sort of strangled groan as he stared at the last few Arithmancy problems on the table before him. His body felt stiff, his vision blurred, and he pressed the heel of his hand to his temple in an effort to focus.

For a few minutes he simply stared, the words jumbled as they reached his brain, until Granger shifted in her seat and he thought he felt her fingers graze his knee.

It must have been her leg brushing against his because she was still writing away, but he jumped when her hand landed on his thigh. His eyes slid to Granger; her lips twitched but her gaze remained fixed on her essay as her hand inched higher.

"Granger," he hissed, uncertain as to her aims.

Her eyes darted to his and she cocked a brow. "What is it?"

Her hand vanished but returned moments later to fidget with his belt buckle; Draco's eyes bulged as he stared at her. His body was alert and highly reactive to her movements. "What are you –"

"Shh," she murmured, returning her gaze to her essay, but her quill hovered in midair. "Surely you don't want the librarian to come this way?"

Draco muttered something garbled and unintelligible as Granger boldly released the closure of his trousers and shoved her hand into his pants, grabbing hold of his burgeoning hard-on.

His elbow fell hard to the table and his face into his palm as he attempted to steady his breathing while Granger's fingers slid the length of him, freeing his cock from his shorts.

A thin sheen of sweat broke out on his temple.

There was a twitch to Granger's lips as his eyes slid to her but she looked pensive, as if she were merely considering her essay while she jerked him beneath the table.

"You're bloody insane," Draco choked under his breath, catching his bottom lip sharply with his teeth as his next inhale hitched.

His heart slammed in his chest as her grip tightened and sped up, building into a steady rhythm; he wanted to reach for her but it was all he could manage to keep silent in his seat as he felt his release chase him with an unexpected haste and ferocity.

"Granger," he panted, his breathing ragged. "I'm going to –"

"Mmm," she hummed, her eyes drifting over to meet his for a moment.

Her thumb swept across his head, and Draco's vision darkened as release crashed over him like a wave; he shot his seed into her hand and down his own trousers as he let out a soft groan.

Granger set down her quill, casting a  _Scourgify_  on the two of them – and the underside of the table – before drawing her other hand back with an absent smile.

"Granger, what the fuck," Draco choked, incredulous as he turned to her.

"Like I said." She gave a bit of a shrug. "I appreciate you studying with me." She rolled up her unfinished essay and started packing her bag while Draco tucked himself away and righted his trousers. "I think we're about done here, don't you?"

Draco gaped for a long moment until she stood from her seat and he threw his books into his bag in a disorderly mess to chase after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Happy Canada Day! I hope you're all having as much fun with this story as I have been - I'm so happy to see so many of you enoying the story. Hard to believe only two chapters remain!
> 
> Alpha and beta hugs to Kyonomiko, and I was BOTWP, respectively - and extra love for making me cry-laugh at work from their notes on this last scene.


	9. Chapter 9

The first thing Draco noticed Tuesday morning was his mother's snowy owl flying towards him. The second thing was Granger's eyes on him as he released the elegant seal on the coiled letter with a grimace. Usually, when Narcissa owled him, Draco assumed she was irritated about something. She'd included a small packet of sweets, so whatever it was about, she couldn't have been too upset with him.

He sobered almost instantly at the thought – his mother had been a little lost since his father had gone to Azkaban. Maybe she was lonely – maybe Draco ought to have been owling  _her_  with more regularity.

He met Granger's gaze across the Great Hall and she flushed, glancing down at her plate. He felt a smirk tug at his lips. He hadn't seen her the day before other than in classes – but he hadn't been able to get their weekend in the library out of his head. More specifically, how it had ended.

He glanced down at the letter.

_Draco_

_I have been informed you've been spending time with Harry Potter's Muggle-born friend, Hermione Granger._

His eyes shot up, and Draco felt himself break a sweat.

No one was paying any attention to him. Blaise and Theo were in a debate about something, and Granger was speaking with some of her housemates.

Pressing his lips into a thin line, Draco returned to the letter.

_I must say I was surprised to hear this, Draco. But I'm proud of you for making amends. These steps will go a long way in restoring the names of the houses of Black and Malfoy._

_If you are serious about her, I would very much like to meet with Miss Granger at her convenience._

_Narcissa_

He folded the letter into a tight square before tucking it into his bag. He felt Granger's eyes still on him and he shot her his best estimation at a reassuring smile.

Draco watched her pull her lower lip between her teeth and cock her head towards the exit. With a last bite of his toast, Draco rose from his seat and slung the strap of his bookbag around his shoulder.

"Granger summons?" Blaise snickered.

With a rude gesture behind him, Draco followed her from the hall.

"Hi," she said as she turned to him once they were both in the corridor. Draco let his hand linger on the small of her back as they walked to the courtyard. With a sparkle in her eye, she turned to him. "Interesting letter?"

"From my mother," Draco said, his tone measured. He could see the tension in Granger's shoulders as she slipped onto a bench, propping her heels up on the seat in front of her and wrapping her arms around her knees.

"And what news from the Manor?" Granger teased, turning to him as he took the seat beside her.

Draco swallowed, unable to meet her gaze. "She's heard we've been spending time with one another."

Granger's expression fell blank; her entire body stilled. "And?"

"And she… wants to meet you." Draco felt a grimace pull at his features as he ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know, Granger – I'm not good at these things."

"Neither am I, particularly," Granger admitted with a bit of a shrug. "But maybe that's a good thing. She hasn't shown up to hex me."

"Or me," Draco muttered. "And yes, it's a good thing. She said she's  _proud_  of me." He hesitated for a moment, leaning back in his seat. "I think Mother's been trying to move past the war, as much as any of us. It hasn't been easy on her, with my father in Azkaban."

It occurred to Draco, with the furrow of sympathy in Granger's brow, that they hadn't really discussed things on this level before. But prior to the past weekend, there had really only been a desire for sex between them. Spoken out loud, at least.

"It's a good thing, if she's trying to do better, Draco," Granger said quietly. He didn't know whether he'd ever heard her refer to him by his given name. He pulled her hand between his, grazing the back of her knuckles with his thumb.

"I think it is too," he said. "But you  _certainly_  don't need to meet her unless you choose to."

He was gifted with a small smile that lit up her face. "Maybe a little time, yet."

"Of course." They fell silent as Draco traced idle patterns on the back of her hand, before he turned to face her, hesitation flaring deep within him. "Can I ask you something?"

Her head tilted, bringing her face closer to his. He realized he hadn't kissed her since the night he'd gone to her room for a chess lesson, but he wasn't entirely certain where they stood.

"Sunday," he hedged, feeling colour burn in his cheeks as she chuckled and glanced away. "Was that  _because_  I studied with you? You know, like before –"

She stared at him for a long moment, her face inscrutable. "Before was… I don't know, a game? An exchange of goods and services." She released a bright laugh at her own poor attempt at a joke, even as Draco appreciated her for lightening the mood. It was something that had been on his mind – when they had been operating under an agreement, everything they had done together had been as a result of something else. "No… Sunday was just because."

"Okay." He let his fingers drag up along her arm. "Just because is good." With a smirk, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss. He left the words hanging, unspoken:  _just because._

* * *

It was a busy week, but Draco managed to make some time for flying, on top of his classwork. It was nice that he was actually caught up with his lessons for once after their intensive study sessions in the library. Granger had spent most of her waking hours in the library, and they had only found a brief window of time together Thursday night, despite that he'd seen she had an essay to finish that night on her schedule.

He wasn't entirely sure, but maybe this was how it felt to have a real girlfriend. He'd casually dated a few times in lower years, but he'd never found someone he  _wanted_  to spend time with on a regular basis.

He coiled one of her curls around his finger, giving it a tug and watching it spring back into place as he released it. Granger looked up from her book, one brow cocked as her lips twitched with amusement. Draco took a sip of his Firewhisky and flashed her a grin.

"Hogsmeade on Saturday?" he asked, swallowing down a lump of nerves in his throat.

She smiled. "Real date?"

"Real date," he affirmed, brows low as he met her stare.

She released a quick exhale as she pulled his hand into hers, interlocking their fingers. Something shone in her eyes as they met his that made his stomach leap into his throat.

* * *

Granger was prettier than he'd ever seen her when he picked her up in the common room Saturday morning, and Draco wondered why he'd never seen it before this year.

She'd been lovely at the Yule Ball in fourth year, but he'd never allowed himself to admit that there was a soft beauty to her that existed every other day. Part of her hair was pulled back, leaving the rest to fall loose down her back in wild curls. She'd applied a simple dusting of makeup, and Draco felt himself swallow thickly as she blinked up at him, her lips pulling into a smile.

It was remarkable, really, how quickly his opinion on her had shifted simply upon getting to know her.

"So," Granger prompted, as she tucked herself into his side while they walked the corridors. "I found out who was spreading those rumours. You know, about how  _adventurous_  I am."

Draco coughed. "I mean, some would consider sexual acts in the school library adventurous."

She pondered the statement with a shrug. "I suppose some might." She fidgeted with the hem of her sweater, averting her gaze. "I think it was Neville."

Lifting a brow, Draco nearly missed a step. "Longbottom? Don't tell me –"

He cut himself off, shaking his head.

"Once," she admitted, a hint of humour playing at her lips. Draco felt a twinge in his chest, remembering the way she'd been laughing with Longbottom the week before, when they hadn't been talking. "But there wasn't ever anything really between us. It was after the war, and we'd both had a little too much to drink, and there were… to be honest, there were quite a lot of tears…"

Draco twisted his mouth to the side. "This sounds like an interesting experience."

Granger winced. "It wasn't exactly… great. It was both of our first times, and it was a little drunken and fumbly on both ends. Neville told me the other day he felt badly that I'd  _wasted_  my first time – his words – and…" She trailed off with a shrug. "As far as I know he only told one person but it must have spread. Misguided, to be sure. But maybe he thought he was making it up to me."

"By telling other people about an experience he didn't have," Draco muttered, cocking a brow even as he snickered. "Clearly, you're still friends."

She eyed him for a moment. "I think Neville and I will always be friends, after everything with the war. But  _that_  was a lesson we both learned."

"Noted." Just like that at her simple affirmation, Draco felt the tension sink from his shoulders. Attempting a casual nonchalance as he slung an arm over her shoulders, he mused, "So you had more experience elsewhere."

Granger's eyes flickered to his and her lips curved with a smile. "Are you sure you want to have this conversation?"

They'd arrived in the village and students milled about, some eyeing them with suspicion but the majority ignored them. Draco wondered if they were already old news around the castle.

"Only if you want to share," he said with a shrug. In all truth, he wasn't sure he really wanted to know.

She shrugged. "A long-time neighbour at my parents' house during the summer. Before he went away to university." There was something loaded in her expression when she added, "A Muggle."

"Fine," Draco said, with an absent flicker of his brows. "That's fine."

Amusement spread across her face. "You're doing better with this than I thought you would."

Draco tightened his grip on her shoulder. "I just hope your Muggle isn't expecting you back this summer."

"Draco Malfoy," Granger said, clicking her tongue. "Laying a claim so soon. What have you done with the bitter, snarky boy I've always known?"

Draco snorted. "He's right here. He's just playing nice today."

"Ah," Granger murmured, leaning into him a little with a soft smile. "He's on his best date behaviour."

With a laugh, he turned to her, feeling his heart race in his chest at the bright banter between them. "So where do you want to go first?"

But Granger didn't respond and her eyes widened, her mouth falling open as she stared forward. Draco followed her gaze, feeling the smile melt from his face. Potter and Weasley stood across the street, their mouths agape.

Draco blinked, retracting his arm from Granger's shoulders and shoving his hands into his pockets. Her eyes met his for a moment, her expression unreadable, before she crossed the street. With great reluctance, he followed her, apprehension suddenly claiming him at the unexpected encounter that would surely lead to a confrontation.

"Harry! Ron!" Granger exclaimed, throwing her arms around both of her friends in turn before pulling back alongside Draco with a forced smile. "What are you doing here?"

Either Granger was oblivious to the thick tension between the four of them or she was making her best effort to negate it.

"Weekend off," Weasley muttered, his face bright red. "Thought we'd surprise you." He turned a hard stare on Draco, who felt his lip pull into a sneer.

Potter hadn't spoken, his eyes still large and his mouth hanging open as if he were catatonic.

Releasing a nervous chuckle, Granger offered a feeble, "Surprise!"

Draco shifted on the spot, waiting for the inevitable bomb to go off.

"What," Potter choked out, "Hermione – Malfoy –"

She gave a deep nod, casting Draco a pleading glance. "Yes, Malfoy and I are here –"

"Malfoy," Weasley snarled. "Seriously, Hermione? Tell me this is a joke."

Barely refraining from rolling his eyes, Draco kept his expression as blank as he could manage. Granger didn't answer him.

"This is – what?" Potter glared his way.

Extreme discomfort shone on Granger's face. Draco's lips pulled to the side as he eyed her for a long moment. His throat felt thick and dry. "How about you spend the day with your friends. Catch up."

Unsure if it was a thoughtful gesture or if it was throwing her to the wolves, Draco felt that either way she might like to spend time with her friends. And he didn't think the circumstances were ideal for him to stick around.

"Are you positive?" Her voice was low as she turned to him. "I can –"

"It's fine," Draco assured her, feeling a bit more confident that she would survive. He made sure to speak soft enough so only she could hear him. "Maybe tomorrow we'll do something?"

"Okay," she whispered, her head tilted to the side. "Can you meet up with Nott and Zabini?"

"Yes," Draco muttered, though he wasn't certain whether he wouldn't just go back to the castle. "I'll see you later. Enjoy your day."

Her hand twitched as if she was going to reach for him but it fell to her side just as quickly. Potter and Weasley were growing redder by the moment. "See you later, then."

Draco hesitated for a moment, debating whether he ought to kiss her or not, but he wasn't keen on a fist to the jaw so he slid his hands into his pockets and made his way down the high street.

Fifteen minutes later, he came across Theo and Sally-Anne in Honeydukes, being overly touchy and loading a basket of sweets. Draco grimaced, relief flooding him when he found Blaise near the checkout.

"Lose Granger?" Blaise asked, flipping through a basket of chocolate frogs as if he could somehow determine which cards they contained. "I can't imagine that's an easy feat given the size of her hair."

"We ran into Potter and Weasley," Draco admitted, scrunching his face. Blaise froze then released a single laugh.

"Oh Merlin," he said, dragging a hand down his face. "Well that was short-lived, wasn't it? You can't believe they won't talk her out of this thing with you."

Draco frowned. "She said she'd find me later."

"Right." Blaise snickered, shaking his head. "Because Potter and Weasley won't try and persuade her otherwise. They bloody hate you."

"It's mutual." Draco sniffed, adjusting his collar. "But  _I_  was reasonable, for her sake."

"Potter and Weasley," Theo said with a grimace as he separated himself from Sally-Anne and sidled closer. "Tough luck, mate."

Folding his arms across his chest, Draco scoffed. "Granger and I have something. She won't walk away because her friends don't like me, or she would have done already." He shifted, feeling uncomfortable as his mind began to spin and fabricate. "She gets it."

Theo and Blaise exchanged a look that made Draco's stomach lurch.

* * *

After an unsatisfying fly, Draco sat picking at his dinner. He hadn't felt like staying in the village, not when he could run into Granger and her friends, and Blaise's words had been chasing around his brain all afternoon. He didn't want to believe it – but he knew the influence of her two best friends was likely stronger than his own.

Whatever was between them was still so new and fragile, he had come to the realization that he wouldn't have been surprised if Granger backed out.

The thought was surprisingly difficult to accept.

He knew it wasn't just about sex, not anymore, but maybe it was about feelings.

Draco wasn't entirely familiar with feelings.

And Granger hadn't returned to the castle for dinner, which meant either she was still with Potter and Weasley, or she was once again avoiding him.

A bitter lump formed in his throat, the idea tugging at his insecurities. He ought to have known better than to think that someone like Granger would align herself with someone like him. After everything he'd done, and after the way he'd treated her for years, he didn't deserve a second chance.

He took a long swig of pumpkin juice, wishing it was laced with Firewhisky, before leaving his plate half-empty and returning to the dorms, disappointment rolling through every fibre of his body.

* * *

Draco watched the clock on his wall tick past half nine, wondering if it was an acceptable time to go to bed. He'd been unable to focus on schoolwork, reading, or anything else he'd tried. All he could think about was Granger, and how he'd thought he was doing right by her in letting her have the day with her friends.

Now he wished he'd kept her to himself.

No one could say he wasn't a Slytherin.

He frowned, tucking a bookmark between his pages and setting the book aside. Dragging a hand down his face, he debated going to sleep and being done with it.

But then his eyes narrowed, fixing on his door. Granger had said she would come find him – and he wasn't going to let Potter and Weasley pull her away from what they had, new and hesitant though it might be.

He rose from his bed, tucking the book into its place on his bookshelf as he attempted to steel his nerves. In principle, going after her was a good idea. But if she didn't actually want to see him?

Draco clenched his jaw, reaching for the door handle. His hand lingered on the knob while he released a long breath. He would make his way to her room, knock on her door, and demand she tell him about her day.

Swinging the door open – he froze.

Granger stood on the threshold, her hand poised to knock, already wearing her sleep clothes. Her eyes widened, and she stumbled a small step back, whispering a breathy, "Hi."

"Hi." Draco frowned, wringing his hands. "I was just… going to see if you were back."

"I'm back." She toed the plush carpet in the hallway, glancing away. "Can I come in?"

Something seized in Draco's chest and he found himself stepping aside; without looking at him, Granger sidled in, hovering near the door as if uncomfortable even as she clicked it shut.

Draco pressed a shoulder against the wall as he stared at her. "How was your day?"

"Exhausting." Granger gave a sort of nervous titter, her eyes finally meeting his. "As you might expect, I was… thoroughly questioned. I felt like I was one of their criminal suspects."

Draco couldn't bring himself to smile.

Her expression flashed. "Thank you – for letting me have the day with them. Only, I feel badly because we'd planned to spend the time together."

With a stutter in his chest, Draco allowed himself a brief flicker of hope. "So they didn't convince you otherwise?"

Granger made a face. "No. Do you think so little of me?" She took a step closer, and her fingers danced across the back of his hand. "I would have liked to spend the day with you, too. It makes me wish you were friends with my friends… but I'm not so easily dissuaded."

Her eyes were bold as they met his, and Draco felt something within him crack as he released a long breath and pulled her into his chest.

After a long moment, Granger withdrew, worrying her lower lip. "You thought I wasn't going to come back, didn't you?"

"Crossed my mind." Draco pursed his lips, feeling heat creep up his neck.

She frowned, interlocking her fingers with his and Draco felt a surge of adrenaline race through his veins; he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"I'm sorry," she said, "that we lost  _our_  day together. I found myself quite looking forward to it."

"We'll make it up." With her arrival in his room, relief had poured through him; Draco found himself stifling a yawn.

Granger looked sleepy too, even as she trailed her fingers up his side. "Do you feel like doing anything?"

It sounded like a loaded question, and Draco wasn't certain she'd meant it that way but he frowned. "I was going to just have an early night." He hesitated, wary, as he gazed at her. "Stay with me?"

Granger concealed a yawn behind her hand and gave a small nod, her chocolate eyes sparkling as they met his. His heart leapt in his chest at her easy acquiescence.

Maybe he hadn't misjudged the situation. Maybe whatever was between them  _was_  enough to hinge a hope on.

Making herself comfortable in his bed, Granger turned to him with sleepy eyes as he slid beneath the covers. "Tomorrow," she teased, tapping her fingertips against his chest, "we can go to the library if you want."

Draco cocked a brow, but her lips twitched and then spread into a grin. "Please tell me you're joking."

"I'm joking."

Shaking his head, he drew her closer to his chest, feeling the warmth of her smaller figure press against him. Suddenly he wasn't so tired. But she blinked at him, pressing her lips to his in a lingering kiss, and her eyes fell shut with a murmured, "Goodnight."

Draco shifted, his feet tangling with hers. "Sweet dreams, Granger."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Only one more to go! I'm so, so pleased to hear so many of you are enjoying this silly little story. Your comments give me life. I've been plugging away on something really fun and summery that I'm excited to share with you all soon. More details on my Tumblr ( indreamsink). The final chapter of OGDL will be up next week.
> 
> Alpha love to Kyonomiko, and beta hugs to I was BOTWP!


	10. Chapter 10

When Draco blinked into awareness the following morning it took several minutes for the occurrences of the previous day to hit him. He was reminded how Granger had gone with Potter and Weasley at Hogsmeade, and he had spent the rest of the day pining.

Until she had come back to him.

His heart raced at the thought of how significant of a reaction he'd had to the idea that she might be talked out of spending any more time with him. It occurred to Draco that maybe Granger had crawled under his skin more than he'd realized.

And while he could attribute a part of that to the fact that he'd gone further with her than anyone else, he would have missed their easy banter, the quiet connection, and the secretive smile she seemed to reserve only for him.

Draco wasn't sure what he'd done to deserve any of that. Maybe he didn't deserve Granger at all – maybe she was so far above him – intellectually, morally, in the way she was just such a  _good_  person – and he didn't know what to make of the idea that she had chosen him. That she had defended him and their blossoming  _something_  to her best friends.

"I can  _hear_  you thinking," Granger mumbled into her pillow. Her head turned to face him and a slow, sleepy smile crawled across her face as her eyes met his. "What's the matter?"

Realizing his jaw was clenched and his entire body tense, Draco relaxed, rolling on to his back to escape the understanding in her eyes. He didn't have any answers for her so he kept silent.

The air between them felt thick and uncomfortable, and when Draco chanced to look at her, Granger was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Are you cross with me?" she asked, her voice soft and breathy. "Because I spent the day with Harry and Ron yesterday?"

"What?" Draco snapped, his eyes flashing to hers. "No, of course not." He made a face, baffled with her incorrect conclusion. He took a deep breath, steadying himself. "What I'm trying to figure out, is why you explained  _this_  to them at all. Wouldn't this all be easier for you if I wasn't in your life?"

He didn't like the flash of pity that crossed her expression. Even less so, he didn't like her miniscule flinch at his tone.

"Easier?" she asked, her expression shifting to incredulity. "You have got to be kidding me – I don't even know what  _easy_  feels like anymore. All I know is, you aren't the boy you used to be, and I like spending time with you. The war is  _over_ , Draco, and I'm doing my best to move on. Just like you."

Draco shifted, disarmed by her vehemence.

Granger looked away, carrying on quieter. "I wasn't lying when I said I was interested in something more… than just sex. And I took your word that you were too."

"I am." His response was so quick, a small smile pulled at her lips. Draco swallowed. "Maybe I just want to be good enough for you."

She leaned in, pressing her lips to his in a gentle kiss. When she drew back, her eyes met his. "It's a two-way street, don't you think?"

He tugged at one of her curls, wild from sleep. "I suppose so."

Shifting so she could prop an elbow on her pillow to face him, Granger caught her bottom lip between her teeth again. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

A flush crept into her cheeks. "How come you're – you've never had –" She made a face, pressing her lips together.

Draco released a bark of a laugh. "Why I'm still a virgin?" She gave a jerky sort of nod. "Granger, I was raised in an  _incredibly_  traditional family. And sex before marriage just isn't something that was ever optional. I would have been reamed to the ends of the Earth." He gave a shrug. "I guess I didn't give it much thought before and during the war, what with everything that was happening. And it wasn't until this year that I had a chance to really consider it."

"That makes sense," she whispered. "And this year – something changed?"

"My father's in Azkaban, for one," Draco reasoned. "I guess – it's a new world, isn't it? So many of my fundamental beliefs have been challenged in a way that's rocked everything I thought I knew." He hesitated for a long moment, searching for the words. "I want my life to be different than what I'd always expected for myself."

Granger gave a slow nod, her expression pensive. "That makes a lot of sense." She chuckled, glancing away. "I guess I always thought the way Parkinson hung off you when we were younger, that you'd…"

Draco laughed, feeling a shiver chase his spine. "Pansy was interested in one thing from me, and it wasn't sex."

Another nod, and Granger fell silent. When she spoke again, something felt different and Draco's eyes locked on her.

"After the war, I struggled for a long time with the idea of what I'd done to my parents." She paused and Draco frowned, uncertain. Her eyes flickered to his and away. "I sent them to Australia – I removed myself from their memories so they couldn't be found and tortured as a way to get to me, and to Harry."

His heart slammed in his chest. "Granger, I –"

"It's okay," she gave a little shake of her head. "I spent most of the summer consulting with mind healers, and we were finally able to recover their memories… but I don't know if our relationship will ever be the same. They felt betrayed, and rightly so." She gave a little sniffle, rolling onto her back to face the ceiling. "I tried to explain the situation the best I could, but they had no frame of reference for how dire the situation really was here."

His hand found hers beneath the covers, and her fingers entwined with his.

"I was  _so tired_." Her words were a pained whisper. "Tired of fighting, tired of running, tired of always feeling like I had to do what was best for everyone else."

"You felt like you'd had no choice but to grow up too soon." Draco's throat felt dry.

"Yes." She gave a little nod. "Exactly that. And then after the war, Ron wanted more from me than I could give him at the time and I guess I just felt alone. I told you about what happened with Neville, but that isn't common knowledge." Her gaze fell on his with a bit of a smile. "Maybe it was selfish, and I was acting out, but everything that happened after that felt like a way I could just forget about everything. With my neighbour, I mean. Sex, drinking, parties. But ultimately, it was all meaningless."

He choked, "And now?"

Her hand gave his a squeeze. "I think at first, when I agreed to the arrangement, it was still a bit of the same." His insides lurched at her honesty, but it had been the same for him. "Just a bit of fun, you know. And with  _you_ , of all people, it felt like something I shouldn't have."

"Right." Draco nodded, rolling to face her. "I know."

"And I guess, when I saw that you were different, and that you were actively trying to move on and to improve your life…" She gave a shrug, her cheeks pinking again. "I realized that wasn't what I truly wanted. That person, reckless and irreverent, wasn't who I really am."

Tilting his head, Draco studied her features. She was beautiful, but there was a sadness to her that he'd noticed but hadn't truly unpacked before. "There isn't anything wrong with choosing yourself now and again," he muttered. "Unless you're me – and you choose yourself every time."

"Draco," she said, frowning. "I don't think that's true. You did what you had to do to keep your family safe."

He glanced away. "And ultimately I made a great fucking mess of everything." He shook his head, facing her again. "I'm not proud of the things I've done. And my mistakes weren't harmless."

She opened her mouth to speak but at the raise of his brow, closed it again. "My point, Granger, is that I think you have the best heart of anyone I know. And it's okay to feel hurt, and lost, and to wonder what exactly life is about. It doesn't take away from the person you are."

Her eyes shone with moisture but she didn't look away. Draco pressed his lips together, feeling a knit take his brow and a twist in his stomach. "I'm still trying to forgive myself for what I've done, and I'm not sure what that will take, or how long. But you, Granger, you're a hero. I'm sorry for the decisions you had to make, and I can't imagine any of them were made lightly." He shrugged, shifting away. "I guess I just need you to know how much I admire you. It means a lot that you've chosen to give me another chance."

"Draco." The word was a broken whisper chasing through her lips as she swiped at the tears breaking from her eyes. " _You've_  given yourself that chance. And I find… I'm quite glad you did."

She gave him a watery smile, leaning forward to press her lips to his again. Drawing her closer, Draco buried a hand in her hair and returned the kiss, feeling her tears on his own cheeks. He swallowed when they broke apart, feeling emotionally exposed and raw in a way he couldn't remember ever feeling.

But she grinned, her fingers tracing his side. "I've decided what I'd like to do today."

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Draco stared, brows high, as Granger handled his broom.

She ran a hand across the glossy surface of the wood, her eyes large. She let the broom hover in the air a moment before turning it over in her hands again. "Yes. I'm sure."

Swallowing, Draco offered her a smile. He was well aware of the level of trust she was showing him by asking him to take her flying. It was overwhelming.

Granger handed him the broom and he kept his eyes on hers as he mounted. At her hesitation, he looked pointedly at the handle ahead of him. "You ought to know I'm not going to let you get hurt."

"I know." The assurance was quick and breathy. She blew out a long exhale that made Draco's lips twitch with a smirk. He thought she gave a bit of a nod and swung one leg over the broom, nestling herself tightly back against him. His cock twitched at the feel of her arse so close as he reached an arm across her stomach.

He hesitated, planting his feet. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," she whispered, her face swivelling to the side so she could look at him. "I trust you. And I trust that you aren't going to do anything crazy, or fly too fast, or turn too sharply or –"

"Granger," Draco snickered, effectively ending her nerve-induced tirade. "You're fine."

He tightened his grip on her for show, though he knew she wasn't going anywhere, and planted a kiss into her messy bun of curls as he pushed off from the ground.

She released a quiet whimper, her teeth biting hard into her lower lip and Draco chuckled as they rose into the air, nuzzling her neck. "Would you try and enjoy yourself please? It'll help you get over your fear of flying far more easily."

He could feel her nod as she planted a hand on his thigh for her own security, but Draco felt her touch shoot through him and he shifted on the broom. Sporting a hard-on while flying wasn't the most comfortable thing he'd ever done.

Steering the broom from behind her, Draco felt Granger soften in his hold as the tension left her and she began to relax. He felt a smile pull at his lips as he picked up speed, lifting the broom higher into the air.

Pulling the broom around so she could see the entirety of the Hogwarts grounds, he heard the catch of her breath. "It's remarkable, isn't it?"

"It is," he agreed, reaching with one hand to adjust her grip to the handle, and her fingers coiled into a tight grip. With a smirk, Draco leaned back, releasing some of his control on the broom.

Granger had become so transfixed with the view she didn't realize he was no longer steering until he lifted his other hand to wrap around her, his chin dropping down to rest on her shoulder.

"Draco!" she hissed, her eyes widening.

"You're fine," he murmured into her ear. "You've been flying for a few minutes already."

She gaped, her eyes narrowing as they met his, and Draco grinned, but she didn't falter. Leaning forward to test the speed, Granger startled to realize she was fully in control.

Feeling the tension coming into her body again, Draco pressed a kiss to her throat. "Don't," she whispered, even as she sunk back a little into him, getting a feel for the subtle shifts and turns of the broom with intense focus.

But Draco only chuckled, moving back. "You're a natural. Not that I'm surprised."

Her expression fixed with concentration, Granger leaned forward, taking the broom into a sharp dive and she released a soft scream, yanking upwards on the handle in surprise, and nearly throwing Draco off the back.

He reached a hand forward to steady the broom, throwing his head back in laughter as Granger released a strangled sound.

"Okay," she said, the word huffed as a breath. "You fly again, please."

Snorting inelegantly, Draco reclaimed control of the broom.

* * *

It was the best day Draco could remember having in a long time. They flew into the village for dinner at a small cafe and Granger regaled the time she'd broken into Gringotts and escaped on the back of a blind dragon.

She tucked herself into his hold as they opted to walk back, and her face was flushed with the chill of the night air by the time they arrived back at the castle.

Everything she said and did made his heart race. And Draco wasn't entirely certain what to make of that.

When they arrived back at the eighth year common room, Granger took up a seat on the couch beside Blaise and Theo, and pulled him down beside her with an absent smile.

His friends saluted her with their glasses of Firewhisky and matching, knowing grins.

Draco's heart was worked into a frenzy by the time Granger announced she was sleepy, but it didn't feel like panic or worry. There was something about her knowing the truth, and not just about his experience.

The conversation they'd shared that morning had flayed Draco open in ways he hadn't realized he was ready to share with anyone. But it felt like a load off – it felt like relief. He'd shared some of his darkest thoughts with her, and she'd accepted them.

She accepted  _him_.

It was crazy to think that he had been so eager to get his first time over with, only to realize that she was the one he truly wanted. That clarity felt so much more important now.

Sex with her had somehow gone from the forefront of his mind to somewhere hazy in the background. Not that he  _wasn't_  still –

Granger slammed him against the inside of his door as she chased him into his room, her lips finding his in an instant. Her fingers played with the buttons of his oxford, pushing the fabric from his shoulders.

Startled, Draco blinked down at her as she drew away, a coy smile playing at her lips.

"I had a really nice day today," she said, fidgeting with a loose curl. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled.

Draco swallowed, tugging her jumper over her head. "So did I. The best."

She took a step closer, her fingers trailing along the muscles of his abdomen. "I thought maybe, we could make it a nice night too. That is, if you want to."

His heart was slamming against the interior of his ribcage, seeking escape. He choked, "I want to."

"It's fine, you know?" Her head tilted to the side. "You don't need to be nervous."

He must have looked more nervous than he'd tried to let on. But as the thought crossed his mind, Draco realized his eyes were wide, his chest heaving, his jaw tight.

"I'm not nervous," he managed, even as she released a soft giggle.

"Is there something I should do?" she asked, a smile playing at her lips. "To make this memorable, I mean. My own first wasn't exactly… anything special."

Draco cracked a grin, shaking his head. "No, I don't need candles and roses, if that's what you're asking."

Granger released a bright laugh, her smile widening as her fingers dropped to loosen his belt buckle. His cock jumped in his trousers in anticipation, and Draco fired a wordless wish into the universe that he could hold out until he'd pleased her.

He should have had a wank earlier.

Except he'd been with her literally the entire day.

He tugged at the narrow strap of her shirt, drawing the thin fabric over her head, leaving her in her bra and jeans. There was a flush creeping up her neck into her face and something in her eyes caught his attention.

"I really like you," she said, her brows furrowing. "I don't mean to scare you off, or anything, but I'm glad… it's like this. And not just  _nothing_."

"So far from nothing," Draco agreed, running his hands along the soft skin of her arms. "And I find I'm quite fond of you, too."

He wasn't certain whether it was  _fondness_  that was pushing against his chest, but he wasn't quite ready to explore what else it might have been. Not when her fingers were tugging at the closure on his trousers, leaving him in his shorts.

Feeling nerves chase through him, Draco drew her in for a kiss, and Granger's lips were searing as they met his, the way her tongue tangled with his own, and her hand dragging along the bare length of his spine. He buried a hand into her hair, his other dropping to undo her jeans. He realized there was a faint shake to his hand and he fumbled the button, feeling heat and doubt creep into his cheeks.

She smiled against his lips, and reached down to release the clasp on her own jeans, pushing the tight fabric down her legs. She grabbed her wand, muttering a quick contraceptive spell.

Draco chuckled to cover his nerves, shifting to trail kisses along the line of her jaw. "You might need to... " He couldn't finish the thought, embarrassment holding his tongue.

With another soft kiss, she drew back, her lips twitching. "At your service. I sort of like that I get to be your first." Her tone was musing as her head fell to the side. "Hermione Granger, taking Draco Malfoy's virginity."

He barked a laugh, feeling some of the tension sink from his shoulders. "Quite the thought, isn't it?"

"Quite."

Drawing her in for another kiss, Draco felt himself relax. This was familiar ground, and he clung to that as he shifted her backwards towards the bed. There was a sort of languidity in the kiss, and he wasn't sure whether he had expected to feel more anxious, more urgent.

But he found he wasn't in a rush with Granger, and it seemed, neither was she.

Pulling him down to the bed with her, her feet tangled with his as she trailed a hand down his stomach, pushing his shorts down and slipping inside. A harsh breath chased from his lungs as her grip found his already painfully hard cock, setting a slow, torturous rhythm. He toed his shorts off the rest of the way.

Draco drew in a long breath, releasing the clasp of her bra and taking her breasts in his hands, teasing the peaks. Her hand clenched as she arched into him, his name tumbling from her lips as her eyes fluttered.

He caught one nipple between his lips, dropping his other hand to slip beneath the waistband of her knickers. As he moved to drag them down the smooth skin of her legs he felt her gaze on him – her eyes were glazed, her pupils dilated, and for a second Draco forgot to breathe.

Dropping her knickers to the floor, he swallowed as his eyes flickered down her fully exposed body. She was chewing her bottom lip when he looked back to her face, and gave her a slow smile. "You're so beautiful."

Her returning smile was exhilarating.

His mouth was dry at the thought; Draco wanted so badly to taste her. But he wasn't sure whether he could handle that right now, with the way her hand was teasing him and pushing him to limits of which he was already uncertain.

So he kissed her instead, feeling the soft curves of her body press against his own, and he thought his heart might simply burst through his chest.

Dragging a finger along her slit, he felt a smirk tug at his lips at her wetness. He dipped one finger, and then another, inside her, testing the way she reacted to the motion, experimenting with the angle and pace.

When Granger released a cry and her eyes rolled back, her hand stilling on him, he cracked a grin.

Her eyes flew open and her chest was heaving, her face flushed. She tugged at the head of his cock and Draco swallowed, extracting his fingers from within her. He couldn't help but taste her juice on his fingers and her eyes widened at the action, her lips twitching.

"Are you sure?" she whispered, her tone teasing.

"I'm sure," he muttered, dropping his forehead to hers. "So bloody sure."

Without fanfare, Granger positioned him at her entrance and gave a little nod. Biting down on his lower lip, Draco eased inside, a huff of a breath chasing from him at the feel of her tightness surrounding him, warm and wet.

She smiled up at him, as if she hadn't just turned his world over, and entwined her hands in his hair. "Go ahead."

Swallowing, he drew out – and pressed back inside. He cursed, his vision nearly blacking out. This would be an exercise in self-control more than he'd ever realized.

And he fell into a rhythm, testing and pushing, and every nerve of his body was alight and aware of her beneath him as she pulled him into a kiss, her hands trailing his back and sides, drawing him closer.

Granger was whispering his name, making quiet sounds, and he was certain it would be his undoing as her teeth caught his earlobe. His arms strained, every muscle in his body tense as he felt his own release closing in.

Her hand dropped between her legs and she arched into him, her other hand clawing at his shoulder; Draco picked up speed, driving into her harder, faster – she released a cry, her eyes fluttering shut as her walls tightened and Draco gave in. A wall of pleasure crashed over him like a wave, darkening his vision and twisting his mind into a spiral of nothing but  _her_.

When his eyes opened and he came back down, Granger was blinking up at him. His heart was racing, his chest rising and falling rapidly, and there was a sheen of sweat on his face and chest.

Realizing he was still buried in Granger he made to withdraw, unable to find any words that felt appropriate for the moment. But she smiled, her eyes sparkling, and her lips met his in a soft kiss.

Intending to say something heartfelt and meaningful Draco drew away and blurted out, "Right. That was… excellent. Thanks."

Granger released a laugh, shaking her head. "Indeed it was. You're welcome. And thanks to you."

He pressed his lips shut, exhaling through his nose. Her smile was teasing and contagious, and he found himself grinning, his brows flickering. "You're welcome, also."

She hopped to her feet, slipping into the loo and Draco couldn't keep from watching her bare arse. He found some tissue, cleaning himself up, and she crawled into his bed when she returned.

Following her lead, Draco slipped beneath the covers nude, stifling a wide yawn.

"Get some sleep," Granger breathed, burying herself against his chest. He felt overheated and sticky but drew her closer anyway, dropping a kiss into her hair. "I'll wake you in a bit for round two."

"Round two." His eyes widened and she gave him a slow, happy smile.

* * *

So," Granger prompted, breathing quickly as she rolled off of Draco to lay beside him the next morning. His own chest was heaving, heart aggressive in his ribcage. "How does it feel?"

Her hair was wild from round two – and round three – and Draco blinked dumbly at her, tugging a messy tangle of curls. Attempting to wrap his head around how she'd just ridden his cock, he swallowed, his eyes snapping back to hers.

"How does what feel?"

She laughed, shifting under the sheets. "You aren't a virgin anymore."

Draco hesitated. "It feels… about the same. Only, better."

"It isn't  _that_  big of a deal now, is it?" she asked, slipping her bottom lip between her teeth. "And now we have all sorts of things we can try."

"I am available for trying things," Draco said with a quick nod. Her eyes landed on his as she laughed, and there was something else in her face. He sobered, trailing his fingers across her cheekbone. "Granger, losing my virginity doesn't really feel all that important anymore." He took a long breath, steeling his nerves. "But something else does."

Her expression dropped, face tilted to the side. "What's that?"

Draco swallowed, his throat dry. "Being in love."

"Love," she repeated, her eyes wide. Her hand stilled on his chest in surprise.

"Right," Draco muttered, averting his eyes. "I think… I love you. And maybe it's too fast and you don't need to – I didn't think I would ever feel like this about anyone and –"

He couldn't piece his words together, not with the way she was gaping at him like he was insane, and Draco frowned, feeling a hot sting of shame, wishing he hadn't said anything. His mind reeled, searching for some way he could retract the words.

"I love you, too," she whispered, interrupting the spiralling thoughts.

Searching for a hint of a lie in her stare proved futile, and Draco's heart clenched in his chest. His lips pulled into a smile and found hers.

He couldn't believe any of this had happened. That out of everything that could have possibly come from such an endeavour, he would find someone he truly cared for.

The clock on the wall struck and Draco pulled away, feeling something sting at his eyes. "We ought to get up soon."

Her hand found his length beneath the covers and her eyes met his. "Think we have time for one more before class?"

He grinned, drawing her closer, and mumbled against her lips, "Anything for you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: That's all folks! I really hope you enjoyed this little story about Draco falling in love (and getting laid along the way). I'm so grateful for all of you for reading, following along, and leaving such kind words throughout. I've been a little overwhelmed by all the positivity, in the best way.
> 
> Much love and respect to my alpha, Kyonomiko, and my beta, I was BOTWP, for their support and dedication in working on this story with me.
> 
> So what's next? I'm 40k into a fun summer story that I hope to begin sharing with you before the month ends. I've got a few fest and comp pieces coming up, and some assorted birthday one-shots. And then, if all goes according to plan, a longer piece! Drop a follow, or find me on Tumblr (@indreamsink) for updates, aesthetics, and other dramione/fandom goodies! Love and light xoxo Dreams


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